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READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 
FOR THE HOLY HOUR 



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THE MANIFESTATIONS OF 
THE DIVINE PRESENCE 



REV. FREDERICK A. REUTER 

AUTHOR OF "SERMONS FOR CHILDREN'S MASS " 




FR. PUSTET & CO. 

Printers to the Holy Apostolic See and Congregation op Rites 
NEW YORK CINCINNATI 
1917 



ARTHUR J. SCANLAN, D.D. 

Censor. 



^Imprimatur* 

*JOHN CARDINAL FARLEY, 

Archbishop of New York. 



New York, May 7, 1917. 



Printed in U.S.A. 
All rights reserved 



a 1 




NOV 26 



1917 



Copyright, 1917 
in the United States and Great Britain 
by Fr. Pustet & Co. 
New York and Cincinnati 



©CI.A477725 



TO THE VERY REVEREND 

MONSIGNOR LUKE J. EVERS 

RECTOR OF ST. ANDREW* S CHURCH, NEW YORK CITY 
WHOSE ZEAL FOR OUR EUCHARISTIC LORD HAS MANIFESTED 
ITSELF IN ESTABLISHING FOR BUSY MEN AND WOMEN 
A NOON-DAY HOLY HOUR; 
A NOON-DAY MASS DURING LENT AND NOVEMBER) 
AND A SUNDAY — " MIDNIGHT MASS " 
FOR PRINTERS AND NIGHT WORKERS, 

THIS VOLUME 

AS A TOKEN OF ESTEEM OF A MOST WORTHY PRIEST 
OF GOD IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY 
THE AUTHOR 



€>olatton. 



fD Hcsmsf, gtlitien beneatb tbe gacramen* 
tal betls, 3 offer ^bee tfjus book, 3 besfeecb 
HTbec to tafee it into W&y dibine beeping, 
t&at it mag glorifp <3£&ine immeasurable 
Eobe ana *3Dbp dibine bounty totoardsf usf 
untoortbp creatures*, jaimigbtp GDtepm&tt 
of graces grant to all tobo read t&ege 
toritings but!) bumilitp, tbat tfiep map fie 
c&armed toitfi tbe sftoeetncgfss of ttbp Eobe 
ana t&erebp desire to become more perfect, 
00 t&at debating tfteir bcarts totoardS <?Ebee 
toitb burning lobe, tbep map be Iifee so man? 
golden centers, tobose stoeet odors gffiall 
abundantly supply all my sbortcomings 
anb defects. 

£>ur Eady of t&e blessed Sacrament 
grant tbat all tbose tobo reab tbis little 
boob, map lobe tbee, anb furthermore, place 
in tbeir bearts a little sparfe of tbe lobe 
toitb tobtcb t&ou dost lobe lesus. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 



Introduction ix 

Note xi 

Prayer 1 

First Reading and Reflection 3 

Second Reading and Reflection 12 

Third Reading and Reflection . 20 

Fourth Reading and Reflection 29 

Fifth Reading and Reflection 39 

Sixth Reading and Reflection 49 

Seventh Reading and Reflection 57 

Eighth Reading and Reflection 66 

Ninth Reading and Reflection 76 

Tenth Reading and Reflection 85 

Eleventh Reading and Reflection 96 

Twelfth Reading and Reflection 107 

Thirteenth Reading and Reflection 120 

Fourteenth Reading and Reflection . 131 

Fifteenth Reading and Reflection 142 

Sixteenth Reading and Reflection 151 

Seventeenth Reading and Reflection 160 

Eighteenth Reading and Reflection 169 

Nineteenth Reading and Reflection 179 

Twentieth Reading and Reflection 187 

Twenty-first Reading and Reflection 196 

Twenty-second Reading and Reflection 205 

Twenty-third Reading and Reflection 215 

Twenty-fourth Reading and Reflection 225 

Twenty-fifth Reading and Reflection ....... 234 

Twenty-sixth Reading and Reflection 243 

Twenty-seventh Reading and Reflection 252 

Twenty-eighth Reading and Reflection 261 



viii CONTENTS 



Twenty-ninth Reading and Reflection 269 

Thirtieth Reading and Reflection 278 

Thirty-first Reading and Reflection 287 

Thirty-second Reading and Reflection 296 

Thirty-third Reading and Reflection 305 

Thirty-fourth Reading and Reflection 314 

Thirty-fifth Reading and Reflection 323 

Thirty-sixth Reading and Reflection 333 

Thirty-seventh Reading and Reflection 345 

Thirty-eighth Reading and Reflection 354 

Thirty-ninth Reading and Reflection 363 

Fortieth Reading and Reflection 372 

Forty-first Reading and Reflection 382 

Forty-second Reading and Reflection 391 

Forty-third Reading and Reflection 401 

Forty-fourth Reading and Reflection 409 

Forty-fifth Reading and Reflection 420 

Forty-sixth Reading and Reflection 429 

Forty-seventh Reading and Reflection 439 

Forty-eighth Reading and Reflection 445 

Forty-ninth Reading and Reflection - 452 

Fiftieth Reading and Reflection 460 

Fifty-first Reading and Reflection 466 

Fifty-second Reading and Reflection 472 

Prayer for a happy Death 480 

Solemn Ceremonies of the Holy Hour 481 



INTRODUCTION 



OF late years there has been a wonderful 
spread of devotion to the Blessed 
Sacrament of the altar among the faithful; 
there has been witnessed a happy rivalry 
between the clergy and the laity in their 
efforts to extend to our divine Lord in His 
Sacrament of Love every token of the deepest 
love and veneration. Next to the intimate 
union of our souls with the beloved Jesus in 
Holy Communion, the piety of the devout 
Christian has found another method by 
which he can approach his Lord in the Holy 
Eucharist, namely the Holy Hour. This 
beautiful service was suggested by real faith 
and burning love, of Adoration, Thanks- 
giving, and Reparation. The various Eucha- 
ristic Associations and Tabernacle Societies 
have introduced into parishes the weekly or 
monthly Holy Hour. 



X 



INTRODUCTION 



This little book goes forth, in a very humble 
way, to join the many other Eucharistic 
gems that are placed at our disposal to 
enhance the Holy Hour. These readings of 
the Manifestations of the Real Presence, 
taken from Christian authors of learning 
and piety, are intended to rouse the luke- 
warm, to bring sinners back to God, to 
inflame the pious with more ardent love for 
Jesus Christ, and to cause the unbeliever to 
reflect on the truths of our holy religion. 

In compiling this work the author hereby 
wishes to express his gratitude to Rev. 
Father F. Gaudet, S.S.S., Editor of the 
" Sentinel of the Blessed Sacrament/' also to 
the publishers of " Tabernacle and Purga- 
tory" magazine, and the Rev. Francis 
Xavier Lasance for valuable suggestions. 

One word more. I pray the pious persons 
who will read this little book to have the 
goodness to remember me sometimes in their 
fervent communions, so that seated at the 
same table in this life, we may meet each 
other again in heaven. The Author 



NOTE 



GOD in His goodness has frequently 
given to His children glimpses of His 
Divine Presence among them. Mere words 
can add nothing to the beauty of these 
manifestations which are themselves only 
the shadows of His invisible majesty, yet 
language will serve to bring into the lives 
of many the influence of these miracles which 
they themselves have not been privileged to 
witness. If unbelievers will not accept these 
miracles it is because they do not understand 
the far more wondrous love which induced 
the Creator to produce them. 

Miracles have been permitted by God, 
in order that some special Providence with 
regard to His honor may be accomplished. 
In cases where the consecrated Host has 
been elevated in the air on the occasion of 
sacrilege or danger, the ministry of angels 
may be admitted. 

Those who believe that God dwells cor- 
poreally amongst us, will accept the legends 



xii 



NOTE 



in this book on the same evidence which 
makes the facts of history worthy of belief. 
The words of God display His Almighty 
Power even more so than His wonderful 
deeds, which will always be eloquent of 
Divine Truth and Love. 

Our fathers in the faith found no difficulty 
in God's miracles, especially when those 
miracles were performed by means of the 
Blessed Sacrament. The learned Bossuet 
said: "Why do people wish to make it 
so laborious for the Almighty to work 
miracles?" "The bad/' says St. Alphonsus, 
"are as ready to ridicule miracles as the 
good are to believe them"; and, he adds, 
"we believe the testimony of a Tacitus, a 
Suetonius, and can we deny it without pre- 
sumption to Christian authors of learning 
and piety?" There is less risk in believing 
and receiving what is related with some 
probability by honest persons, especially 
when that which is related serves for the 
edification of our neighbor and has not 
been rejected by the learned, than there is 
in rejecting it with a disdainful spirit. 
St. Augustine admirably says, "When a 
miracle, however striking it may be, is made 
known, in the very place in which it hap- 



NOTE 



xiii 



pened, and by witnesses, it is at times dis- 
believed, because of man's incredulity and 
pride. Nevertheless, the fact is none the 
less true." " Though an approval of Catho- 
lic faith be denied them (miracles), " says 
Benedict XIV, "yet they deserve a human 
acquiescence according to the rules of dis- 
cretion by which they are in all probability 
worthy of belief." 

What is now often considered impossible 
was believed in the Ages of Faith, when the 
world was more worthy of the miracles 
which God was pleased to perform in it — 
when the angels and the saints of heaven 
loved to converse with a simple-hearted and 
innocent people, whose life spent in the 
sunshine of God's approval was divided 
between humble labor and the practice of 
holiness. 

The Reflections contained in Manifesta- 
tions of the Real Presence consist of a collec- 
tion of passages from the Fathers and 
Doctors of the Church, each of which has 
won a place here by the beauty of its diction 
or the truth it teaches. The thoughts and 
words of the saints are as pearls, whose 
manifold gleams adorn the Venerable Mys- 
tery; the truth of the Mystery itself is the 



xiv 



NOTE 



light which gives them their radiance. The 
fervent language of the holy Fathers cannot 
but enliven the faith and inflame the devotion 
of Catholics. 

No one who has experienced the sweetness, 
the peace, the joy that comes from union 
with the Sacred Humanity of Jesus Christ 
in Holy Communion will find anything 
difficult of belief in the legends that follow. 



READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 
FOR THE HOLY HOUR 



Praper taken from an 
3fris& Praper*ooofe 

/Ai?* most &acreb ^eart of 3|esus in tfie 
^ S^ost Slesseb Sacrament, 3 beg anb 
implore of pou to grant me tftc grace of a 
bappp treats, ana tfie game to mp frienbs 
ana mg enemies especially ttjose tbat com* 
tmttea sins t&rougb me, ana prap for me 
ana forgibe me for all tbe goob promises 3 
babe mabe ana broken. Oj); goob (Boa babe 
mere? upon tbe poor suffering souls, espe* 
ciallp tbose tbat map be betamea tbere tbrougb 
me anb tbe most forsafeen souls. 

3nclube us all. libtng anb beab in all tbe 
passes tbat bull be saia to tbe enb of t&e 
toorla, all t|e i^olp Communions, inbulgences 
anb prapers of bebout Souls nob) anb f oreber* 
more. 3 beg of pou to bear mp poor prater 
anb grant me tbese requests, for none on tbe \ 
face of tbis eartb neeas tbese more tban 3. 

9$$ lobing Eorb. a tbousanb toelcomes* flD 
&on of fil^arp 3 lobe pou, inbeeb 3 bo. TOo 
am 3 at all, tbat gou sboulb come neit or 
near me? flD (Bob of beaben, mafce a little 
corner for me in pour fjeart anb neber tobile 
tbere is life in me let me lose mg place tbere, 
anb after beatb map 3 bibe tbere. amen. 



jFttfift Keatung anti Reflection 

MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

AMONG the writings of St. Arsenius, 
we find the following account of an 
old man who had no faith in the doctrine 
of the Real Presence. Though an unbeliever 
himself, he had two fervent Christian friends 
who were imbued with an ardent devotion 
to the Blessed Sacrament. Long and 
earnestly did they endeavor to make him 
a member of the one true Church, yet 
despite the fact that he was willing to be 
instructed his spirit of unbelief remained. 

Finally they proposed that he should 
unite with them in prayer during the space 
of a week, that God might enlighten his 
mind to know and acknowledge the truth. 
And in His infinite Mercy, God deigned to 
listen to their petitions. 



4 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



While they were assisting at Holy Mass the 
following Sunday, they saw the Host trans- 
formed into a beautiful child, and as the 
priest broke the sacred particle, they observed 
blood dripping into the chalice. 

The time approached for the old man to 
receive Holy Communion. What was his 
amazement when raising his eyes to gaze 
at the sacred species, he noticed — not the 
familiar bread and wine, but real flesh and 
blood! In deep humility he cried out: 
"0 Lord, I believe — I believe firmly that 
Thou art really present on the altar under 
these lowly appearances." No sooner had 
he uttered these words when the Host 
resumed its usual color, and the now staunch 
believer received our Lord most worthily. 
His friends, overjoyed at his new profession 
of faith, afterwards assured him: "God 
understands that human beings would with- 
draw from living flesh; therefore, He gives 
Himself to the faithful under the pleasing 
appearance of bread and wine!" 1 



1 Miracles Eucharistiques, by Very Rev. Pere Couet, 
S.S.S.; Acta S. Sanctorum. His Life, by St. Theodore the 
Studite. Blessed Sacrament Sentinel Vol. XVII No. 12. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 5 



The feast of Corpus Christi was not cele- 
brated in the early days of the Church. In 
the primitive ages of the Church we find 
no traces of the feast of Corpus Christi. 
God himself indicated that the celebration 
of Corpus Christi would be acceptable to 
Him, and as He chooses that which is foolish 
in the eyes of the world in order to confound 
the wise, His wisdom here also pursued 
the same course. The first circumstance 
which led to the celebration of the feast of 
Corpus Christi was a vision granted to the 
Blessed Juliana, a nun of Liege. Her de- 
votion to the Blessed Sacrament grew with 
her from the day she was admitted into the 
cloister. On the day when she communi- 
cated she withdrew from all intercourse with 
others, and spent her whole time in prayer 
and meditation. At the elevation she would 
fall prostrate, while her whole appearance 
indicated the interior love of her heart. 

Being one day engaged in contemplation, 
she saw in spirit a vision of the moon at its 
full, a dark spot in which disfigured the clear 
shining thereof. After much prayer and 
fasting she was enlightened as to the mean- 
ing and signification of this apparition. 
God revealed to her that the moon repre- 



6 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



sented the Catholic Church, and that the 
dark spot signified the want of a special 
feast in honor of the Blessed Eucharist. At 
the same time she received the command 
that she should induce the authorities of 
the Church to institute such a feast, in 
order that by a public and solemn adoration 
the insults offered to the Blessed Sacrament 
might be atoned for. The humble virgin 
was terrified at such a command, for she 
deemed herself unworthy. For a long time 
she did not dare communicate to others the 
revelation she had received, till finally, after 
much prayer, being convinced of the truth, 
she could no longer resist the promptings of 
her heart. In the year 1230 she disclosed 
the apparition to a few men equally re- 
nowned for piety and learning. These men 
declared the apparition to be of God, and 
induced Robert, Bishop of Liege, to insti- 
tute in his diocese a feast of the adoration of 
the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. 

In the year 1246 Bishop Robert issued a 
command that every year, on the fourth day 
after the feast of the Most Holy Trinity, the 
feast of Corpus Christi should be celebrated 
in all the churches within the diocese of 
Liege. After his death Hugh, the former 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 7 



Provincial of the Dominicans, who was al- 
ready acquainted with the visions of Juliana, 
and had been created a Cardinal and Legate 
at Liege, found there the feast as it had been 
established by Robert; and conceiving a great 
devotion for it, he not only preached in its 
favor, but commanded the celebration in the 
entire district of his legation. The same course 
was continued by his successor, Peter Capoch. 
Several bishops following this example, the 
feast of Corpus Christi was introduced 
into many other countries, especially into 
Germany, where it was celebrated with the 
greatest solemnity. In the year 1261 James 
Pantaleon, Archdeacon of Liege, one of the 
first whose voice had decided in favor of the 
heavenly vision, was raised to the pontifical 
throne under the name of Urban IV. Thus 
the new Pope was happy, a few years later, 
in being able by a Bull to establish the feast 
of Corpus Christi all over the world. This or- 
dinance was confirmed by Pope Clement V 
in the Council at Vienna, in the year 1311. 
Several Pontiffs granted special indulgences 
for this feast. 

Reflection 

When Jesus uttered the touching words, 
"It is my delight to be with the children 



8 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



of men/' He had in mind the accomplish- 
ment of a great work: The small things of 
this world were to be transformed into the 
sacred; the simple were to be converted into 
the wonderful; the weak into the strong. 
Nay more, such strength was to be conferred 
upon these very small and simple things 
that the sanctification of our immortal soul 
would hereafter depend upon their reception. 
Here in the Sacrament of His love, Jesus, 
true God and true Man, conceals Himself 
under the appearance of bread and wine. 
And it is for that reason alone that we adore 
the Holy Sacrament. 

"It is my delight to be with the children 
of men." Aye, truly, our Lord wishes to 
be with us. The love of a friend is proved 
by the frequency of his visits to our home, — 
by his heartfelt gladness on seeing us, — 
and his unsatisfied yearning for us when 
we are far away. But can the love of any 
friend be compared with the love of the 
great and all-holy God? He is in our every 
village, town and city, dwelling with us in 
the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar, — 
a sacrament instituted not merely to give 
us grace but to give us God Himself. If 
our Blessed Lord surrendered His royal 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 



9 



magnificence to assume this humble appear- 
ance once a year, or even in a lifetime, He 
would still have proven that His delight is 
to be with us — what then shall we say to 
His dwelling continually in our midst? 
To His being present in our tabernacles day 
and night, yea, every hour and every moment 
of our lives? Day after day, His priests 
perform the stupendous work of transforming 
bread into His sacred body, and wine into 
His precious Blood. Thus our Blessed Lord 
has so completely exhausted Himself in His 
divine Love, that although He is truly God 
He still can utter the sorrowful plaint: 
"What more could I have done for my 
vineyard that I have not done?" 

"The Lord be with you," says the priest 
to us in the Holy Sacrifice; this wish is 
realized in the truest and most wonderful 
manner in the Holy Eucharist. 

Is He not truly with us, the merciful 
Savior imprisoned by His very love in our 
tabernacles, He who invites us to visit Him, 
who leaves the tabernacle either to bless us, 
or to give Himself to us, to repose in our 
hearts, to feed us with Himself, to make us 
become "flesh of His flesh, and bone of His 
bone"? 



10 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



This earth is no longer a place of exile, 
for we possess here our father and our king. 
It is no longer the home of misery and 
tears, for He in whom are all the treasures 
of grace, and who makes the joy of heaven, 
dwells with us. It is no longer a desert, 
since here is the fountain of living water 
springing unto eternal life. It is no longer 
the land which was accursed on the day of 
the first sin, since He is there who has taken 
away every malediction. 

Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist is the 
Emmanuel of all the faithful, the Emmanuel 
of the child to whom He gives Himself so 
willingly, and whom He inundates with so 
sweet a joy; of the young man whom He 
strengthens by His presence against the 
world, the flesh, and the devil; of the man 
in ripe manhood with whom He labors in 
every good work; of the old man and those 
on the bed of death, whom He defends 
against the weaknesses of nature and the 
fear of death. 

My dear Christians, we should make a 
return of love to Jesus for His boundless 
love of us, in order to appease in some 
measure His suffering Heart. In our venera- 
tion of the Most Blessed Sacrament, there 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 11 



should be some real proof of our love and 
we should make of the Holy Hour a solemn 
homage of our adoration and reparation. 
As we pass His home, whether in the crowded 
thoroughfare of a great metropolis or the 
shady lane of a sylvan village, let us go in, 
if only for a moment, to tell Him that with 
all our frailties we are His, — and to offer 
Him every thought of our minds, every 
pulsation of our hearts in the long stretch 
of years still before us, so that united to 
Him here in the Blessed Sacrament of His 
Love, we may be united to Him throughout 
the long ages of eternity, Heart to heart 
forevermore! 

"May He support us all the day long, till 
the shades lengthen, and the evening comes, 
and the busy world is hushed, and the fever 
of life is over, and our work is done! Then 
in His mercy may He give us a safe lodging, 
and a holy rest, and peace at the last!" 



feeconti IReabmg anti Keflectton 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

THE illustrious Saint Ignatius, founder of 
the famous Jesuit Order, after he had 
received the sacred order of Priesthood, re- 
solved to pass a year in preparation for the 
celebration of his First Mass; and when this 
time had expired he still deferred the awful 
solemnity from month to month. At length, 
at the end of eighteen months, on the Feast 
of Christmas, in the chapel of the Crib of 
the Infant Jesus, he offered himself in union 
with this spotless sacrifice, as a freewill 
offering to the service of God. Two years 
afterwards he received from Pope Paul III 
the ratification of his Society, and he was 
chosen by his companions as their first 
general. 

Saint Ignatius had learned by his own 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 13 



experience the marvelous effects of worthy 
Communion. He required at least an hour 
for the celebration of his Mass, and fre- 
quently being in a rapture he would occupy 
a much longer time at the Most Holy Sacri- 
fice. Father Nicholas Lannoy, who on one 
occasion was present at his Mass, observed 
at the Memento that a flame of fire hovered 
over his head. He was on the point of 
hurrying in order to extinguish it, but was 
suddenly arrested by the sight of the face 
of the Saint, which beamed with divine light, 
and the illuminated expression of his eyes, 
which appeared to be lost in the contempla- 
tion of the Almighty. The ardour of divine 
Love, which increased in every Communion, 
consumed the Saint to such a degree that it 
was not possible for him to say Mass daily. 

One Christmas day, after having said the 
second Mass, he became so weak that it was 
necessary to carry him to his room, as he 
was believed to be dying. As he stood at 
the altar, the beating of his heart was audi- 
ble. A stranger who happened to be present 
one day, and perceived the tears he shed, 
approached secretly to Father Strada, who 
had served the Saint's Mass, and said to 
him, "He who has just said Mass must be a 



14 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



great sinner. Let us hope that God has 
forgiven him. He has wept enough.' ' 

The room which the Saint occupied was 
separated from the church by a partition. 
He caused an opening to be made in the wall, 
over against the tabernacle, and here he 
passed his happiest hours. Saint Ignatius 
died with the holy Name of Jesus on his lips 
on the 31st of July, 1556. 

Gaume, a French author, writing on the 
miracle of the Blessed Sacrament, records 
a remarkable instance, illustrating how a 
doctor of modern times displayed his faith 
in the hidden God of the Eucharist. 

Aixiong the eminent physicians of Egypt, 
Clot Bey held the highest rank. One day, 
as he was standing with other doctors on 
one of the streets of Marseilles, where he 
spent the latter years of his life, it happened 
that a priest, bearing the Holy Eucharist 
to a dying person, passed along the street. 
No sooner did the doctor notice the man of 
God and his precious burden, than he 
quickly uncovered his head and bowed 
towards the ground in an attitude of homage. 
To the query of one of the younger com- 
panions who asked him the cause of his 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 15 



adoring posture, he responded: "Do you 
not see Jesus? Jesus in the Most Blessed 
Sacrament is passing by." The other, with 
a cynical smile, said: "Is it possible, doctor, 
that a man of your learning and ability be- 
lieves that the great God of Heaven could 
be contained in that tiny Host which the 
priest is carrying in his hand?" 

"Yes," replied the physician, "it is pre- 
cisely the crowning glory of my learning 
that I do believe it firmly. You people who 
speak of God's greatness realize His power, 
— but have you ever heard of His love?" 

A sublime answer, indeed, full of hidden 
meaning. Whether the young inquirer ac- 
knowledged thereafter any belief or not, the 
doctor had surely made the most of his faith 
in the Most Blessed Sacrament. 

St. Hedwig, the wife of Henry, Duke of 
Silesia, and the mother of his six children, 
led a humble, austere, and most holy life 
amidst all the pomp of royal state. Devotion 
to the Blessed Sacrament was the keynote 
of her life. Her valued privilege was to 
supply the bread and wine for the Sacred 
Mysteries, and she would attend each morn- 
ing as many Masses as were celebrated. 



16 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



St. Hedwig is honored as the Patroness 
of Silesia. 

Reflection 

Strengthened by this heavenly food, St. 
Lawrence braved the flames; St. Vincent, 
the rack; St. Sebastian, the shower of 
arrows; St. Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, 
the fury of the lions; and many other martyrs 
suffered every torture which the malice of 
the devil could invent, content only if they 
could but return their Savior love for love, 
life for life, death for death. They embraced 
the very instruments of their tortures: yea, 
they even exulted and glorified in them. 
Now this was the effect of the Holy Eucharist; 
this life-giving bread imparted to them the 
courage and joy which they manifested in 
the face of every conceivable pain and trial. 
For this very reason, in the early persecu- 
tions, all Christians, in order to be prepared 
for martyrdom, received the Blessed Sacra- 
ment every day; even carrying the Sacred 
Host to their homes that they might com- 
municate in the early morning. Mary, 
Queen of Scots, during her captivity prepared 
for execution in the same way. 

The holy and adorable mystery of the 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 17 



Eucharist is one of the most extraordinary 
proofs of God's love for man, and an abridg- 
ment, as it were, of all the wonders He has 
wrought in our favor. If feelings such as 
these animated and strengthened the early 
Christians, to suffer courageously the terrible 
persecutions to which they were subjected, 
surely the angels in heaven might well have 
envied them. Nothing can confer a greater 
dignity on the children of the true faith 
than the legacy of this " supersubstantial 
bread' ' with which their heavenly Father 
is pleased to nourish them. In this mystery, 
the faithful soul is wedded to its celestial 
Spouse by a most intimate and inconceivable 
union; heaven is united to earth, and God 
to man. In the Eucharist, the enraptured 
soul is bathed in an ocean of unutterable 
sweetness, and amidst all the bitterness of 
this life is refreshed with the deepest draughts 
of holy joy. 

Ceaselessly our Lord pleads our cause from 
His home on the altar; ceaselessly He 
recommends our feeble prayers to His 
heavenly Father. Close as He is to us, yet 
He is more hidden than any human friend 
who may for years have buried himself in a 
bleak desert away from human kind. The 



18 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



veil that shrouds the sacred precincts is 
never lifted. Enter the Church, day or 
night, and it remains ever the same. No 
movement, no word, no uttered plea for 
companionship, ever tell us, that there in 
that little tabernacle Someone is dwelling 
and hungering for our society, poor, frail 
creatures though we are. Only the brightly 
glowing lamp of the Sanctuary reveals the 
home of the hidden God. Yet Jesus does 
not dwell with us here lifeless or inactive. 
In the fullness of His divine activity, He, 
the All-powerful Mediator abides, between 
Heaven and earth. Our Savior once, in 
years long past, He remains our Savior 
still, — pleading that all harm be kept from 
our lives and all unrighteousness from our 
hearts! He awaits our coming, listens to 
our petitions, and to our supplication. He 
adds His own power as a son in presenting 
our prayers to His heavenly Father. Little 
wonder that the gifts we receive are mar- 
velous, for Jesus is our best Friend. 

It is for this end our dear Lord has estab- 
lished His dwelling here with us. Not for 
His own pleasure is He here, but for our 
advantage! What no creature has ever 
done, what none could ever do for us, He 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 19 



has done — given us Himself whole and 
entire! Let us then make some return to 
Him. The Holy Hour will be at least a 
feeble proof of our gratitude — a little 
reminder that we love Him and that, if 
home-duties did not prevent our coming, 
we would daily pour forth our hearts before 
Jesus in the tabernacle, repeating our simple 
prayers, over and over, in perhaps the same 
simple plainly worded way but with the 
good intention of one who loves. 

Dear Jesus, we revere You in Your humble 
abode. We adore You as our " Bread of 
Life." We beg of You to receive us as we are 
confident that our poor homage may recom- 
pense You, at least in a small degree, for the 
insults You so patiently suffer at our hands! 

"My heart is ready, God, my heart is 
ready! I will sing and give praise with my 
glory." Ps. cvii. 

" Chained prisoner of love, Divine Jesus! 
Chain my poor heart to the foot of Thy 
Altars. Dearest Jesus, Thou hast made my 
heart for Thyself alone, hide it within Thine 
Divine Heart in the Tabernacle!" 

"O Sacrament most holy! O Sacrament divine! 
All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment 
Thine! " 



TOtb Keatung and Wittltction 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

THE venerable Catherine of Jesus was a 
discalced nun of the convent of Beatia 
in the Province of Granada. Whilst yet in 
the world, Catherine was powerfully drawn 
to the Divine Redeemer in frequent Com- 
munion. In proportion to her desire for 
this heavenly food, for which she prepared 
herself carefully by penance and acts of 
divine Love, were the graces she received. 
Once being occupied in the service of her 
neighbor, it was late when she arrived at the 
church of St. Ann at Seville. The gates 
were already closed, and Holy Communion 
seemed denied to her that day. Sorrowfully 
she went to the parish church, and besought 
the parish priest for the love of God to give 
her the Blessed Sacrament. The good man, 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 21 



who well knew her virtue, hastened to 
grant her humble request; but on entering 
the church great was his surprise on finding 
the tabernacle open, and the candles on the 
altar lighted, although no one had been in 
the church for many hours. Soon, however, 
he perceived that it had been the work of 
angels, who in this manner had manifested 
how greatly God was pleased with the holy 
desire of His servant. 

Another time she began very early in the 
day to prepare herself for Holy Communion, 
when, falling into an ecstasy, it was midday 
before she came to herself. At once she 
betook herself to the Carmelite Church, but 
found the doors closed. In great distress 
she turned her steps to another convent, 
which was known by the name "Owe dear 
Lady of Victories/' praying as she went that 
the Lord would provide her with the means 
of satisfying her spiritual hunger. Again she 
found the doors closed, but at the same 
moment a priest accompanied by many 
persons arrived, who, without being asked, 
opened one of the doors for her. On enter- 
ing she perceived at the altar three religious, 
vested, and two ministers holding the Com- 
munion cloth, who apparently awaited her. 



22 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



One of them, in fact, beckoned to her to 
approach the altar, and so with great joy 
she received the Body of the Lord. On her 
return home she again fell into an ecstasy 
when it was revealed to her that the minis- 
ters of the altar whom she had seen were angels 
sent by the Lord to satisfy her holy desire. 1 

A certain woman who had always provided 
Pope St. Gregory with altar breads, began to 
entertain doubts about the Real Presence. It 
happened one day at the time of Communion 
when the Pope was about to administer the 
Blessed Sacrament to her, that, after he had 
said the usual " Corpus Domini nostri," she 
broke out into a most frivolous titter. The 
Pope, withdrawing his hand, placed the 
Host back on the altar; then, turning 
around, he addressed her in the presence of 
all the people and commanded her to explain 
the cause of her laughter. 

Before all assembled, she openly pro- 
claimed that she thought it was ridiculous to 
call the bread which she brought to the Pope, 
the Body of our Lord. St. Gregory at once 
prostrated himself on the ground, to pray 

1 Ott: Euch., page. 318. P. Franz von der hi. Maria, 
Geschichte von Karmel. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 23 



for the unbelieving woman. On concluding 
his supplications, he took the same Host, 
which by the power of God had assumed 
the form of a finger, and showed it to the 
woman. When the Pope had again prayed 
to God in her behalf, the Host resumed its 
former shape and he then gave it in Com- 
munion to the awe-stricken woman. 1 

A beautiful legend is related of the Blessed 
Imelda of Bologna. She was very young 
when she was received in the Order of St. 
Dominic, and from her tenderest years had 
shown an inexpressable longing to receive 
her Lord in Holy Communion. Being but 
eleven years of age her confessor withheld 
this privilege from her, and continued to 
delay her First Communion. Whenever she 
saw the Sisters go to partake of the spiritual 
Banquet, she wept most bitterly. She was 
once complaining aloud to the hidden Lord 
and asking Him why she alone was denied 
this great happiness, when suddenly one 
of the sacred Hosts was seen in the air 
hovering directly over her head. Those 
near her acknowledged this singular appari- 

1 Life of Pope Gregory by Paulus, diacon. Vol. 2, cap. 
41; Ott Eucharisticum, page 153. 



24 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



tion as a heavenly sign of God's will 
permitting her to receive Holy Communion 
at once. The priest immediately obeyed 
with all devotion; and the active love with 
which this child received her Lord for the 
first time was so deep, so fervent, that she 
sank to the ground, lifeless, her pure soul 
taking its flight to heaven to be forever 
united to the heavenly Bridegroom. 1 

In the life of St. Tharsicius, the first 
martyr of the Eucharist, we read that one 
day some pagan soldiers met him while he 
was carrying the Blessed Sacrament to his 
home, as was the custom in the early days 
of persecution. Immediately the soldiers 
seized Tharsicius and threatened to ill-treat 
him unless he made known to them what 
he was carrying. But the brave boy refused 
to betray his trust and was stoned to death. 
History tells us that although his persecutors 
searched his garments for the hidden treasure 
they could find no trace whatever of the 
sacred species. Thus, does God sometimes 
work miracles in behalf of His Saints. 

1 Savioli: Annal Bolognesi. Eichsfeld Blatt, No. 18, 
1884. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 25 



One day St. Francis had some business 
engagement with the Viceroy of India. 
When the appointed hour arrived, a young 
student of the seminary, named Andrew, 
sought him in order to remind him of the 
time. He found him sitting on a low stool 
before the tabernacle, his hands folded across 
his breast, and looking upwards. Having 
observed him in silence for some moments, 
the youth spoke to him, but when the Saint 
did not answer, he left, fearing to disturb 
him. Two hours later the young man 
found him still in the same position and 
fearing to leave a duty undischarged called 
him again and again until the Saint finally 
gave heed to his importunity. When St. 
Francis learned of the long time which he 
had passed in contemplation, he hastened 
with all speed to the palace of the Viceroy. 
On his way thither, however, he fell into 
another rapture, and remained standing 
motionless until nightfall, when coming to 
himself, he returned to his dwelling. "My 
son," said he to his young disciple, " we must 
visit the Viceroy on another day; this day 
God has willed to reserve entirely for Him- 
self." 1 

1 Ott; Eucharisticum, page 286. 



26 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



Reflection 

In the most Blessed Sacrament of the 
Altar, the Catholic Church, obedient to the 
teachings of our Divine Lord, tenders Him 
the homage which is His due, for nothing 
less than divine homage and adoration is a 
fitting tribute to the Son of God. Like our 
Holy Mother the Church, we, too, should 
offer Jesus that special worship which He 
justly claims from us, his creatures. Angels 
and archangels are His bodyguards in the 
celestial kingdom, ever doing His Holy Will, 
— yet it was not for them that He lived 
and suffered and died: It was for us, simple 
as we are. In humble adoration, then, let 
us bend our knee before the tabernacle, and 
render homage with all our strength to our 
hidden God. The Church never ceases in- 
viting us to draw near to the sanctuary, — 
a special tone of pleading entering into her 
voice particularly during the Holy Hour. 
Oh, let us not turn a deaf ear to her earnest 
solicitation! 

Jesus is as near to us now as He was to 
the shepherds on the first Christmas night, 
as near as He was to St. Peter when that 
apostle walked to Him upon the waters, 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 27 



as near as to Mary Magdalen as she knelt 
at His feet waiting for His word of forgive- 
ness. Ah! if we bend the knee at the sound 
of Jesus' blessed name, how much more 
ought we to lie prostrate before God's altar? 
Jesus could have remained with us in all 
His infinite power and majesty till the end 
of time, striking fear into the hearts of the 
erring by the very strength of His appear- 
ance, yet what does He do? Out of con- 
sideration for His children He remains with 
us under the humble appearance of bread, 
bearing with our irreverence, our coldness 
and contempt and without a single word of 
reproof. 

Listen, as He says to us from the altar: 
" Where your treasure is, there also your 
heart will be." He speaks to us in these 
words of love: "If I be your treasure, your 
heart will ever be with Me in the Holy 
Eucharist; and what treasure is there more 
precious than this? In the Sacrament of 
the Altar I am the delight of the angels, 
wonderful honey in the mouth, sweet canticle 
to the ear, heavenly nectar to the heart. 
In this Sacrament I love, I feed, I strengthen, 
I console, I direct, I heal my children. 
Those who taste Me are still hungry, those 



28 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



who drink Me are still thirsty. taste and 
see how sweet I am, and you will desire noth- 
ing but Me! Comprehend the height and 
depth of My love, and you will consider 
Me your greatest treasure, you will give Me 
your whole heart." 

Ah! Jesus, in the most Blessed Sacrament 
of the Altar, fill our hearts with boundless 
love that this Sacrament may always be our 
delight and that we should be ever ready to 
spend ourselves for Thee and Thy service! 

"How lovely are Thy tabernacles, Lord 
of Hosts! My soul fainteth for the Courts 
of the Lord! My heart and my flesh have 
rejoiced in the living God!'' Ps. lxxxiii. 

"Blessed art Thou, Lord, in the holy 
temple of Thy glory, on the throne of Thy 
kingdom, bearing the sceptre of Thy dignity. 
Blessed art Thou that beholdest the depths, 
and sittest upon the cherubim! Blessed 
art Thou in the firmament of Heaven! 
O ye angels of the Lord, bless the Lord! 
ye heavens, earth and sea, bless the Lord! 
praise and exhalt Him above all forever.' 1 
Dan. iii. 




jffluttf) Keatung; anU Eeflecttan 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

ST. EUDOXIA was a native of Samaria 
and suffered martyrdom during the per- 
secution of the Emperor Trajan. She was 
gifted with a clear understanding and great 
personal beauty, but unhappily she fell into 
evil ways, and in order to give herself more 
liberty, Eudoxia removed from Samaria to 
Heliopolis, where she became rich. God did 
not, however, abandon her. A holy monk, 
Germanus, by name, passing through Heli- 
opolis, happened to rest for the night at a 
house which adjoined that of Eudoxia. At 
the usual hour for matins, Germanus arose, 
chanted the psalms, and read aloud the de- 
scription of the pains of hell and the bliss 



30 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



of heaven. The singing of the monk in the 
early hours of the morning awoke Eudoxia. 
She listened with as much attention as 
astonishment to every word of those myste- 
rious truths of which until that moment she 
had known nothing. 

The next morning she sent for Germanus, 
and for the first time heard the word of God. 
Without hesitation, she corresponded to the 
motions of divine grace within her, put her- 
self under instruction, and received baptism. 
Then, distributing her wealth among the 
poor, she retired into a convent, in which 
dwelt a community of thirty consecrated 
virgins, who led a life of such severe penance 
that they were believed to have the gift of 
miracles. 

Now it came to pass that Diogenes, the 
idolatrous and wicked governor of Heliopo- 
lis, desired to take as a wife Gelasia, one of 
Eudoxia's young converts, whereupon the 
girl fled to her in her convent for protection. 
Hearing this, Diogenes sent thither a band 
of soldiers, with orders to drag Eudoxia 
thence. To their surprise she offered no 
resistance. But before giving herself up, 
she visited the chapel; and, taking one of 
the Sacred Particles from the altar of the 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 31 



Blessed Sacrament, concealed it in her 
bosom. It was night and very dark; but 
as they journeyed, there appeared to her a 
youth, clothed in white, who accompanied 
her all the way, carrying a torch. When 
brought before the governor, she formally 
confessed herself to be a Christian; and he, 
finding that no persuasion could move her to 
sacrifice to the gods, ordered her to be 
hanged on a high gallows. 

Now, in making ready to carry out the 
sentence, there fell from the bosom of the 
martyr the Sacred Particle which she had 
taken from the altar. The executioner, not 
knowing what it might be, took it up, and 
carried it to the governor; but scarcely had 
the wretch put forth his hand to touch it, 
when, lo! the sacred Host changed into a 
flame of fire, scorching not only the hand of 
him who held it, but laying hold of the 
shoulder of the governor himself. Howling 
with pain, he called in vain upon his idols 
for help against the " enchantress" Eudoxia; 
for, his body being quickly wrapped in 
flames, he fell down dead. Upon witnessing 
this astonishing miracle, the family of Di- 
ogenes, as well as many soldiers, were con- 
verted to the faith. Eudoxia, however, was 



32 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



only reserved for a later martyrdom; and 
in the year 147 she received by order of 
Vincentius, the successor of Diogenes, the 
crown she so ardently desired. 1 



In the life of King Louis of France, we 
read that Mass was one day celebrated in 
the absence of the king. The words of 
consecration had scarcely been pronounced, 
when a wonderful prodigy occurred: our 
Lord appeared visibly upon the altar, under 
the form of a beautiful child. Word was 
sent immediately to the king that he might 
witness the miracle God was working to 
prove His adorable Presence in the Blessed 
Sacrament. But Louis remained motion- 
less. "I firmly believe already/' he 
answered, "that Christ is truly present in 
the Holy Eucharist. Christ has said it and 
that is enough for me. I do not wish to 
lose the merit of my faith by going to see 
the miracle." And the holy king remained 
in his room content in his belief, — but he 
directed those of his courtiers who had the 
least doubt in the Real Presence to repair 

1 Bollanden, Mart., Tommi; Ott: Euch., page 101.- 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 33 



to the church, and witness the wonderful 
power of God. 1 

A gentleman was one day visiting an 
hospital which was under the care of the 
Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul. He walked 
leisurely through the various wards, closely 
observing the good sisters' work and passing 
favorable comments on all he saw. It 
happened that a painful operation was in 
progress and the cries of the poor patient 
resounded throughout the building. Unable 
to stand the strain any longer, the gentleman 
hastened to leave the place. Yet the calm, 
serene aspect of the sisters in the operating- 
room attracted his attention. "How can 
these good sisters/' he asked the superioress 
as he stood at the door, " remain so coura- 
geous, when even I, who have stronger 
nerves than they, cannot endure it." "Sir," 
she replied, pointing to the door of the taber- 
nacle, "it is there they gain that courage 
and strength you so much admire; Jesus 
Himself bestows it upon them in the Holy 
Eucharist." 

The Blessed St. Thomas a Kempis in his 

1 His life: Berger and Scholte. Acta Sanctorum. 



34 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



legends of Mount St. Agnes relates the 
following miraculous interventions regarding 
the Real Presence of Jesus in the Most Holy 
Sacrament. 

"One day, a lay brother of our convent 
received Holy Communion at the altar of 
St. Agnes. For a long time previous he had 
been obliged to walk with the aid of crutches. 
After Holy Mass, however, he was so 
strengthened by the virtue of Christ and 
the help of St. Agnes, that he left his crutches 
and with ease returned to his place in the 
choir, filled with the greatest joy. One of 
the brothers asked him what he had done 
and what his prayers were during Holy 
Mass. 'I considered/ said he, 'the words 
of the gospel, in which St. Luke relates of 
Jesus that "all the people sought to touch 
Him, for virtue went forth from Him, and 
healed them all." Surely, then, I thought, 
a firm faith in the virtue of the Most Holy 
Sacrament, especially in union wdth the 
prayers of the saints, may even now be the 
means of healing both spiritual and corporal 
maladies.'" 

"One day while saying Mass at the altar 
of St. Agnes, a brother was severely tempted 
to doubt the truth of the sacred mystery. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 35 



Full of bitter pain and weeping, he turned 
toward Jesus, in the tabernacle, when, lo! 
he heard a voice within his soul, saying: 
'Believe, as did St. Agnes, St. Cecilia, St. 
Barbara, and other virgin saints who suffered 
death for Christ's sake, and doubted none of 
His words.' When he heard these words, 
all doubt at once fled from his mind, and the 
temptation vanished. Ever afterwards the 
brother repeated these words in all tempta- 
tions against faith, saying: ' Believe as did 
St. Agnes, and never shalt thou sin against 
faith.'" 1 

Reflection 

" Because thou hast seen Me, Thomas, 
thou hast believed. Blessed are those who 
have not seen and have believed," was the 
gentle reproof administered by our Divine 
Lord Himself to His incredulous apostle. 
How reassuring to us are the words : " Blessed 
are those who have not seen and have be- 
lieved," for when we adore the most Holy 
Sacrament, we adore without seeing the 
object of our adoration, — aye, more, without 
even wishing to see it. We know full well 
that Jesus is present here, subject no more 

1 Ott: Eucharisticum, page 265; Bolland, Vol. III. 



36 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



to suffering and death, but risen and glorified. 
We know it and believe it, though we see it 
not, for nothing can be truer than the words 
of Christ Himself. At the simple utterance: 
"This is My Body; this is My Blood/' we 
surrender our poor human reason to the 
testimony of the all-holy God. Is that too 
much to surrender? Not only do we adore 
what we do not see, but we adore the contrary 
of what we see. And God is pleased with 
this, for in the Old Testament we read how 
He praised Abraham because He hoped even 
when He had no reason to hope. Surely, 
then, our heartfelt adoration of the Blessed 
Sacrament must be most meritorious in His 
eyes. 

Jesus in the Eucharist addresses us when 
He says: "Blessed are they who have not 
seen and yet have believed. I am invisible 
in the Eucharist except to the eye of faith. 
This divine virtue, which comes by the sense 
of hearing, supplies the deficiency of the 
other senses. I have said, that My flesh is 
meat and My blood is drink. Now Heaven 
and earth shall pass away but My word shall 
not pass away. Do not, therefore, presume 
to ask, like the unbelieving Jews, how I can 
give you My flesh to eat. No word shall be 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 37 



impossible with God. I said, Let there be 
light and there was light; I spoke and all 
things were made; I commanded, and they 
were created. I say to you, in the Eucharist, 
which is the continuation of the last supper, 
' This is My Body/ and will your weak reason 
dare to say it is not My Body? I say, ' This 
is the chalice of My Blood/ and you will 
presume to say it is not the chalice of My 
Blood? I add, 'My Body which will be 
delivered for you/ and will you assert that 
I mean only the figure of My Body? Was it 
not My Real Body that was delivered and 
broken for you on the cross? I also said, 
'My Blood shall be shed for the remission 
of sins/ was it not My Real Blood, instead 
of only the figure of My Blood, that was 
poured out on Calvary? In the Eucharist, 
then, I distribute My Real Body that was 
crucified, and My Real Blood that was 
shed. I, the Eternal Truth, have declared 
it so at the most awe-inspiring moment, and 
in the most solemn manner. It is your duty 
to believe and to adore." 

All our happiness here below consists in 
meriting heaven, not in enjoying it, — and 
merit is the reward of " things unseen" not 
of sight. Faith has its joys even in this 



38 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



life, because by believing in God although 
we do not see Him, we thereby actually 
feel Him who surpasseth all knowledge, as 
we read in the book of Job. 

Beloved Christians, approach the altar 
during the Holy Hour, fall upon your knees 
and adore your God and Savior really and 
truly present thereon. When you reflect 
that it is in the Blessed Sacrament that 
Jesus most deserves your homage, you must 
feel prompted to adore Him unceasingly. 
Pray then with unfaltering hearts: "I 
believe, Lord; help my unbelief." 

"Most adorable Body, I adore Thee with 
all the powers of my soul. Lord, who hast 
given Thyself entirely to us, grant we may 
become entirely Thine." 



jFtfti) Ifteatnna; anD Inflection 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

THE irreligious Count Wittekind, a most 
formidable opponent of the Emperor 
Charles the Great, was at one time a prisoner 
of war in the enemy's ranks. One day 
desirous of personally inspecting the camp 
of the Emperor, Wittekind disguised himself 
as a beggar, thinking that by so doing he 
should be able to see more than if he went in 
state. It happened that the Easter festival 
being near, the Emperor and all his army 
were occupied in preparing for their Easter 
Communion. Wittekind crossed the river 
Oger in his disguise, and mingled with the 
crowd of beggars who came to receive the 
alms which the Emperor so munificently 
dispensed. When the time came for the 



40 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



distribution of the alms, Wittekind also 
stretched out his hand in order to receive 
his portion. Having a crooked finger, he 
was recognized by the almoner, and being 
asked why he, a prince, should choose to 
take his place among beggars, Wittekind 
made no reply, but merely requested to be 
taken to the Emperor. This was on Easter 
day itself. The Emperor received him with 
the greatest friendliness, and merely asked 
him why he was not dressed in a manner 
more suitable to his state. "I thought," 
he replied, "to penetrate into your camp 
more easily in order that I might see every- 
thing." "And what hast thou seen?" in- 
quired Charlemagne. 

Whereupon Wittekind replied: "Two days 
ago, Emperor, I perceived that you looked 
morose and downcast, and I could not 
understand how anything could cause grief 
to such a sovereign as you. (As the day 
designated was Good Friday, the Emperor 
had been filled with sorrow at the remem- 
brance of our Savior's sufferings.) Yester- 
day you still seemed sad and thoughtful; 
but to-day I was astonished beyond all 
measure to see your face beam with joy as 
you received from the richly vested priest 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 41 



a Host in the form of a beautiful infant. 
The child seemed to smile as the minister 
of God approached some, while others were 
met with a frown. What all this means, I 
cannot understand. " The Emperor replied: 
" Wittekind, you have received a great grace. 
God has manifested to you what He has 
hidden from us, — yea, hidden even from 
the priests of His Church. " The good 
Emperor had the count instructed in the 
mysteries of the Blessed Sacrament. Witte- 
kind besought the Emperor to give him a 
priest, in order that the Holy Sacrifice might 
frequently be offered in his presence, and the 
Emperor promised to send him even a bishop 
if he would give the prelate a suitable resi- 
dence. Then Wittekind offered the ecclesi- 
astic his fortress on the Weser, in which he 
said there was room enough for himself and 
the bishop too. The castle was called 
"Mein und Dein" (mine and thine, whence 
later on the name Minden, which is still in 
vogue), because Wittekind possessed it in 
common with the bishop. From that time 
a perpetual peace was maintained between 
Charlemagne and Wittekind. The latter 
faithfully served the Lord whom he had so 
wonderfully learned to know, died happily 



42 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



in the year 807 and was buried at Minden in 
the church which he had built. 1 

The author of the " Following of Christ' ' 
gives an account of a man who was strongly 
tempted to disbelieve in the Blessed Sacra- 
ment. One day during the Holy Sacrifice of 
the Mass, this doubter asked God most 
fervently to strengthen his faith in the Holy 
Eucharist. His petition did not go un- 
answered, for the Lord appeared to him in 
the sacred Host as a beautiful child. Return- 
ing thanks to God for this saving grace, 
the man never afterwards doubted the Real 
Presence. The good priest at the altar 
was not aware of the miracle, nor was there 
any need for him to see, strong in grace and 
faith as he was. God only vouchsafed this 
miracle for the unbelieving man. 2 

In Amsterdam, a church was once set on 
fire, and among those present was an old 
man, who rushed boldly into the flames to 
remove the Blessed Sacrament. Immedi- 

iBolland: Jan'y 7, 1850. Ott: Euch., page 159. 

Tillemand: Lib. I collat., cap. I ex Hist. Eccl. 
2 Rodriguez : Christian Perfection, Vol. I, 357. Les 
Merveilles divines, Gaulie. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 43 



ately the flames divided before him, leaving 
a passage to the high altar. After taking 
down the Blessed Sacrament he carried it 
away without receiving the slightest injury. 
A painting representing this miraculous 
occurrence can still be seen in the church 
where it occurred. 

One day when St. Mechtilde had received 
Holy Communion after contemplating the 
Sacred Passion of Our Lord, He said to her: 
"Wouldst thou see in what manner I am in 
thee and thou in Me?" But she held her 
peace, considering herself unworthy. In the 
same moment she saw the Lord under the 
form of a transparent crystal, and her own 
soul like clear sparkling water flowing through 
the Body of Christ. As she marvelled 
greatly at the unspeakable goodness of God 
towards her, the Lord said: " Remember 
that which the Apostle Paul hath written: 
'I am the least of the Apostles . . . but 
through the grace of God I am what I am.' 
Thou also in thyself art nothing, but what- 
soever thou art, that through My grace art 
thou in Me." 



44 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



On another occasion when about to com- 
municate she said to the Lord: "Write my 
name in Thy Heart and thereupon it 
seemed to her as though the Lord bore 
certain golden letters on His breast, which 
were adorned with seven precious stones; 
and she saw the first letter of her name, and 
understood the signification thereof, after 
which when she sought for the names of some 
wliom she had recommended in her prayers, 
she found the first letter of their names also, 
adorned with the seven precious stones. 
(The first of these represented purity of 
heart; the second, steady contemplation of 
the Consecration; the third, humility; the 
fourth, increase in good work; the fifth, 
patience; the sixth, hope; the seventh, 
Divine Charity.) She understood therefore 
that one who would worthily communicate 
must be adorned with these seven jewels. 

Reflection 

Our Lord and God dwells night and day 
upon our altars, under the humble form of 
bread. What marvelous poverty does He 
not display in this Sacrament! Poorer than 
He was in the crib, where He at least retained 
His human form, He has here hidden both 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 45 



His divinity and His humanity. Divesting 
himself of even the appearance of life, the 
Author of all life remains in a condition that 
seems to indicate death. A living body is 
here, yet there is no indication of life. The 
God of heaven and earth confines Himself 
within the limits of this motionless form! 
And what consequences does this not often 
bring to the Blessed Lord! Insults and 
profanations become the almost daily return 
of His rebellious creatures as a result of His 
very condescension, and yet, although in the 
Holy Eucharist He retains the full possession 
of His infinite omnipotence, the Prisoner of 
the tabernacle betrays not even the slightest 
sign of His displeasure. He is content to 
endure this unutterable poverty in order to 
be with us. 

Our Lord speaks to us by the mouth of 
His prophet: "It is thus that I am wounded 
even in the house of those who love me." 
And as we draw nearer to the tabernacle 
we seem to hear Him say: "In the Eu- 
charist I am still humbled for sinners, 
undergoing many more humiliations than 
the poverty of Bethlehem together with the 
anguish of Calvary. In my humble state 
at Bethlehem I even received more consola- 



46 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



tions than which are denied Me now, the 
very angels sang My praises, a brilliant star 
pointed out My abode and I was adored 
by Joseph and Mary, by the humble shep- 
herds and the sages of the East. In the 
Eucharist, I am born again and My adorable 
incarnation is renewed and perpetuated. I 
am placed in another Bethlehem where all 
is poverty and humiliation, where, having 
myself divested of all splendor, I descend 
from the glory in which I reigned with My 
Father and conceal it all under the appear- 
ance of bread and wine. Even amidst the 
ignominy of the cross all nature went in 
mourning for Me, and acknowledged Me 
to be its God ever, My very enemies con- 
fessing that I was 'truly the Son of God/ 
but in the Eucharist I suffer the most 
unheard-of outrages, and I suffer them in 
silence. I am exposed to continued in- 
sults; and turned into mockery. Heretics 
deride Me, wicked children of the true faith 
desert Me, insult Me, receive Me into their 
polluted hearts, and yet under these new 
insults nature does not mourn, the earth 
is not darkened, the rocks are not rent 
asunder, the graves do not send forth 
their dead. faithful soul, wilt thou 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 47 



not make some reparation to My wounded 
heart that thus suffers so much for thee?" 

Indeed we should be filled with holy sad- 
ness, at the remembrance of the offences 
of man towards the adorable Eucharist. 
Prostrate before the altar let us deplore the 
sacrileges committed towards the Blessed 
Sacrament in the Church, and implore God's 
mercy. Let us shed our tears in the presence 
of God dwelling with us, He whose love is 
so shamefully outraged. True love strives 
to offer compensation for the injustice 
suffered by one beloved. Let us, then, 
show that we have a true love for Jesus 
Christ. Let us adore Him with all the 
powers of our being, accepting with resigna- 
tion the sufferings of our lives, and let 
us offer these sufferings to Him with the 
intention of repairing in part at least the 
outrages He receives from men in His 
Sacrament of Love. 

"0 Jesus, unknown Love, Divine Savior, 
Who continuest Thy passion in the most 
Holy Sacrament, behold us at Thy feet 
endeavoring in our own weak way to make 
amends for the outrages of men, so many 
of whom, alas, have repaid Thy kindness 
with black ingratitude." 



48 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



O Jesus, loving with an inexhaustible love 
the souls Thou hast redeemed, can we ever 
show our gratitude to Thee for all Thy 
heavenly favors? At least during the Holy 
Hour we can give Thee some proof of our 
attachment, some token of our love for 
Thee. We deplore the conduct of so many 
so-called Christians who neglect this oppor- 
tunity of rendering Thee due homage, — ■ 
but have we ourselves never been guilty of 
the same lukewarmness? It would ill be- 
come us to criticize others, dear Lord, since 
there is so much matter for condemnation 
within our own selfish hearts. Thou exhibit- 
est such poverty in this Sacrament of Love, 
and we are hardly satisfied with the best 
that life can offer us. 

"O Jesus, hidden Majesty, let us learn a 
lesson from Thee. Let us desire all through 
life to be content with the least, provided 
only that this may conduce the more to 
Thy honor and glory. " 

"A fainting hath taken hold of me, on 
account of sinners who offend Thee, O Lord." 
Ps. cxviii. 



I^tstj) fUa&tng an& ISittltttion 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

SAINT DOMINIC was one of the most 
fervent lovers of Jesus and Mary who 
ever lived, and he was also the well beloved 
of the angels. He received at their hands 
all kinds of help during those long watches 
of the night which he spent prostrate at the 
foot of the holy altar, pouring forth the 
affections and longings of his heart without 
restraint in presence of his good Master in 
the Most Holy Sacrament, and invoking 
with tears the protection of the Blessed 
Virgin. However wearied he might be, 
while he was journeying on the road, he 
was never tired of watching whole nights in 
prayer, and used his utmost endeavors that 
it should be before the Adorable Eucharist. 
The angels, enraptured with his indefatigable 
love, associated themselves with him. The 



50 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



spirits of heaven took pleasure in accompany- 
ing this heavenly man. They were seen to 
bring lights, and take them to the room into 
which he had retired; open first the doors 
of the house and then of the church, whither 
they conducted him; and afterwards, when 
the time was come, they escorted him back 
in the same manner. The servants of a 
bishop with whom he lodged, having ob- 
served this marvel, mentioned it to the prel- 
ate, who watched the holy man about the 
time when the prodigy used to occur, and 
had the consolation of witnessing it, be- 
holding with admiration the goodness of the 
heavenly spirits to men. 1 

When, in the year 871, the Danes in- 
vaded England, King Ethelred went with a 
small army to meet them. But trusting 
more in the protection and assistance of 
God than in the valor of the army, he went 
first to hear Mass. While assisting at the 
Holy Sacrifice, messengers came to tell him 
that the Danes were quite near, and that 
he must prepare immediately for battle; 
but he answered that he would not go until 
he had received Holy Communion. So he 

1 Boudon, Dev. to the nine Choirs, page 49. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 51 



stayed in church till Mass was ended, and 
went forth with a lion's courage to attack 
his enemies. The Lord of armies was with 
him, and thus after a short conflict, the pious 
king succeeded in putting the enemies of his 
kingdom to a shameful flight. 1 

On the 24th of May, 1608, a fire broke 
out in one of the chapels of the abbey church 
of our Lady of Faverney, in the diocese of 
Besangon, France, destroying the portable 
altar which had been used in one of the 
processions on that day. The altar linen, 
all the decorations, and even the very 
predella of the altar were soon reduced to 
ashes. Only the monstrance which con- 
tained the two consecrated Hosts remained 
intact, for, by miraculous intervention, it 
was seen suspended in the air for thirty- 
three hours, to the astonishment of more 
than 10,000 persons who came to witness 
the miracle. 

It happened that a pastor from a neigh- 
boring town arrived to celebrate Mass. The 
elevation over, the monstrance lowered it- 
self and rested on the corporal placed there 
for the purpose. It was then carried by 

1 Baronius. 



52 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



the priest to the high altar. Fifty of the 
most prominent citizens of the town gave 
a written testimony of this stupendous 
occurrence, while the Bishop of Besangon, 
after thoroughly investigating the case, 
openly declared the miracle authentic. 

One of the miraculous Hosts was carried 
to the church at Dolce, where it was received 
with great pomp. The people unani- 
mously resolved to have a celebration every 
year, in which the most Holy Host would be 
borne in triumphal procession for the adora- 
tion of the faithful. 1 

"The Lover of the Blessed Sacrament," 
such was the title the Blessed Benedict 
Joseph Labre merited for himself. Whilst in 
Rome he visited all the churches in turn, 
because they were the dwelling-places of 
Him who was his All in all — his well-beloved 
Jesus. 

When the All-Holy was exposed, especially 
on the occasion of the Adoration of the Forty 
Hours, he knew not how to tear himself 
away from his Savior in the Most Holy 
Sacrament, and people who would speak of 
him, not knowing what name to call him, 

1 Ott: Euch., page 416. Les Merveiiles divines, 1865. 
The Catholic Encyclopedia, VII, page 493. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 53 



would style him the "Poor man of the Forty 
Hours' Adoration. " His demeanor before 
the Most Holy Sacrament was so devout, his 
body, his head, and his eyes, which were ever 
fixed on our Lord, were so motionless, that 
in the process of his canonization it was 
said of him that he used to resemble a statue; 
also, that it appeared to some that an adoring 
angel rather than a praying man was then 
wrapt in contemplation. In the presence 
of his beloved Savior the interior fire of his 
heart shone forth in his illuminated face, 
to the astonishment of everyone who observed 
him; for when he was not engaged in prayer 
it was colorless as a corpse, yet when before 
the Blessed Sacrament it was tinged with a 
roseate hue and he became altogether insen- 
sible to outer things. In this situation he 
would often remain in adoration for five or 
six hours; yes, even for a whole day, without 
giving the slightest nourishment to his 
emaciated body. One who saw him in the 
church of St. Anne from the early morning 
until sunset kneeling motionless in the atti- 
tude of the deepest rapture before the Most 
Holy Sacrament, on one occasion of the Forty 
Hours' Exposition, was filled with the greatest 
amazement. His astonishment was so great 



54 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



that he called the attention of all the brethren 
of the Confraternity of the Adoration of the 
Blessed Sacrament to the fact, and he main- 
tamed that the same thing might be remarked 
of Benedict in the other churches when the 
Blessed Sacrament was exposed for adoration. 

One day, as he was praying in the church 
of Sta. Maria in Via Lata, towards midday, 
when no one was in the church, he permitted 
his sighs and loving aspirations to have free 
course. There were, however, two priests 
in the choir, which was entirely separated 
from the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, 
in which Benedict was praying. Xow, when 
they heard these deep sighs, urged by a pious 
curiosity they approached the spot without 
noise, and then they perceived Benedict 
before the tabernacle, with outspread arms 
in the form of a cross, heaving such loving 
sighs that it was clearly perceptible how full 
his heart was of divine love. The priests 
left him with sorrow, at the same time that 
they united their own prayers with those of 
the poor beggar-man. 

It was the same when he assisted at Holy 
Mass. Daily he was present at many with 
the greatest attention and devotion. 

In order to prepare himself for the end, 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 55 



which at length he perceived to be ap- 
proaching, he began with greater fervor 
than ever to seek the sacrament of Penance 
and that of the Holy Altar. Two days 
before his death he communicated in the 
church of St. Ignatius, at the altar of St. 
Aloysius, with so great desire that the cele- 
brating priest declared he had never felt such 
deep contrition himself, nor yet such inward 
consolation, as when he remarked the bright 
glow on the face of this servant of God. 1 

Reflection 

Have you ever considered what a long and 
wearisome road our Blessed Lord had to 
journey over ere He could give Himself to 
us in the Holy Eucharist? Ask our Holy 
Faith to enlighten you and you will receive 
the answer: He had to live, to suffer, and 
to die! 

His divine glory and majesty had to be 
sacrificed that He might be born in a 
stable; that he might dwell as a poor car- 
penter in Nazareth, toiling and laboring till 
His thirtieth year; that for three years He 
might go about Judea, poor and shelterless, 
enduring heat and cold, hunger, and thirst; 
1 Merveilles Divines dans la S. Eucharistie, 1. 



56 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



that He might be hated, calumniated, perse- 
cuted and, lastly, put to a cruel death! 
Thus the Blessed Sacrament is not merely 
the fruit of the life of Jesus; it is rather the 
fruit of His bitter passion and death. ! who 
ever heard of love like this? 

"I was in the world, and the world was 
made by Me, and the world knew Me not. 
I came unto My own, and My own received 
Me not." 

Now during the Holy Hour, it is our 
privilege to give a little testimony of our 
gratitude to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. 
Let us greet this hour as one of the most 
holy of our lives, and during our visits let 
us invite the different choirs of angels and 
all our patron saints to the feet of Jesus in 
the tabernacle. 

"Down in adoration falling, 
Lo! the Sacred Host we hail! 

Lo! o'er ancient forms departing, 
Newer rights of grace prevail; 

Faith for all defects supplying, 
Where the feeble senses fail/ 1 



&ebent& Kea&mo; anti Kef lection 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

A CERTAIN Cardinal of Rome was in 
the habit of saying Mass every day. 
But when his occupations became rather 
numerous and pressing, he easily omitted 
saying Mass in order to gain more time for 
the transaction of temporal affairs. No 
sooner had St. Cajetan of Naples, his bosom 
friend, learned this than he started without 
delay for Rome in spite of the extreme heat 
which endangered his life, in order to re- 
quest the Cardinal to resume his former 
practice of saying Mass daily, and not de- 
prive God any longer of so great an honor; 
the Blessed Virgin and all the saints, of ex- 
cessive joy; sinners of the grace of conver- 
sion and forgiveness; the just of many 



58 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



actual graces; the souls in purgatory of great 
relief in their pains; the Church of her 
great strength; and himself of so powerful a 
means of salvation and sanctification. 

One day Father John Avila, S.J., made a 
long journey. Having a great desire to say 
Mass, he continued his journey in spite of 
extreme fatigue, in order to reach a convent 
where he might offer up the Holy Sacrifice. 
But at last he felt so overcome with fatigue, 
that he gave up all hope of reaching the con- 
vent and saying Mass. Suddenly Jesus 
Christ appeared to him in the guise of a 
pilgrim, and, showing him all His wounds, 
said: "When I received these wounds I was 
certainly more fatigued than you are now/' 
Having said this our Divine Savior dis- 
appeared, leaving Father Avila full of cour- 
age to continue his journey, until he reached 
the convent to say Mass. 

One day St. Dominic was saying Mass in 
London, England, in presence of the king 
and queen and three hundred other persons. 
As he was making the memento for the 
living, he suddenly became enraptured, re- 
maining motionless for the space of a whole 
hour. All present were greatly astonished, 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 59 



and knew not what to think or make of it. 
The king ordered the server to pull the 
celebrant's robe, that he might go on with 
the Mass. The server attempted to do so, 
but became so terribly frightened that he 
was unable to comply with the order. After 
an hour's time, St. Dominic was able to 
continue the Mass, when, wonderful to 
relate, at the elevation of the Host, all who 
were present saw, instead of the Host in 
the hands of the priest, the Holy Infant 
Jesus, at sight of which they experienced 
great interior joy. Not only that, but, at 
the elevation of the chalice, every one saw 
above it a cross on which our Lord Jesus 
Christ was hanging in a pitiable condition, 
shedding His most Sacred Blood. After 
Mass St. Dominic ascended the pulpit and 
addressed the people in the following man- 
ner: "You have all seen with your own eyes 
and experienced in your own hearts the 
wonderful things Jesus Christ has done in the 
Blessed Sacrament. You have seen with 
your own eyes, and it has been given to you 
to understand, how Jesus Christ, the Savior 
of the world and the Son of Mary, has been 
pleased to be born anew, and to be again 
crucified for you. Now, if there be a spark 



60 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



of Divine Love in your hearts, sentiments of 
gratitude in honor of this sacred mystery- 
ought incessantly to ascend to God from 
your hearts." 1 

Alphonsus Rodriguez, S.J., in his book, 
" Practice of Christian Perfection," 2 relates 
the following: "A holy man was one day at 
Mass, which was being said by a priest who 
was rather worldly. What was his surprise, 
at the moment of Communion, to see a 
charming child, surrounded by luminous 
rays, reposing on the paten in place of the 
species of bread! He was more astonished 
afterwards, for he saw that when the priest 
went to take Communion, the child turned 
away his head, struggling with his hands 
and feet, as if to prevent the priest from re- 
ceiving him into his mouth. The same 
saint had several other times the same 
vision, which gave him much thought. One 
day this priest was conversing with him and 
confessed that as often as he received the 
Body of our Lord at Mass he had great 
trouble in taking it, and knew not how that 

1 B. Alamos: Ex. lib. intit., par. 3, cap. 22. Drane: 
History of St. Dominic. 

2 Eighth Treatise, chap. 13. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 61 



could come. The servant of God was very 
glad of this confidence; he took occasion to 
tell the priest what he had himself seen, and 
advised him to make a thorough examina- 
tion of his conscience, a good confession, and 
change his life. Touched by this kind ad- 
monition, and the warning he had received, 
the priest applied himself to become more 
edifying. Some time after, the holy man 
who had warned him, when assisting again 
at Mass, perceived the same child between 
the hands of the priest, at the time of Holy 
Communion, but saw him enter now into 
his mouth and his heart joyfully and eagerly, 
which proved the sincerity of his conversion. 

Father Nascasen, an Armenian friar of 
the Order of St. Dominic, was living in his 
convent with one companion and was in the 
act of saying Mass, at which the other served, 
when the Turkish chief with fifty horsemen 
rode up to the door, and making his way 
into the church just as the Sacred Host was 
being elevated, rudely commanded Father 
Mathew to come and hold their horses. 
Mathew laid the Divine Victim again on the 
altar; then, turning round, he begged the 
chief to wait till he had finished Mass and 



62 READINGS AXD REFLECTIONS 



he would do his bidding. The Turks sur- 
rounded the altar, cursing and blaspheming, 
but did not touch him till he turned to give 
the last blessing, when the brutal com- 
mander struck his head against the corner 
of the altar so violently that his vestments 
were dyed in blood. u Dog of an infidel," he 
exclaimed, "wilt thou leave thy Mass and 
serve me?" "I will not leave the service of 
God for thine," firmly answered Mathew. 
As he said so, his enemy pushed him to his 
knees and struck off his head, so that his 
blood was sprinkled on the very altar on 
which but a moment before he had con- 
cluded the Holy Sacrifice, and beneath which 
his relics were afterwards interred. 

Reflection 

In the Blessed Sacrament our Lord does 
marvelous things for us. He was not con- 
tent with living near us. No, He would come 
to us as our very food. With His divinity 
and humanity, with His adorable soul and 
body, with His flesh and blood, He chooses to 
visit our hearts, and oh, how often those 
wretched hearts are unworthy to receive 
Him! Who could explain the prodigies that 
the Lord's omnipotence works in this 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 63 



Sacrament? "Who shall declare the powers 
of the Lord?" The wonders which were 
performed by Jesus during His life were per- 
formed in their own time and in their own 
particular place, but He renews the prodigies 
of the Holy Eucharist every day, every hour, 
and in an infinity of places. In the Most 
Holy Sacrament He changes the whole sub- 
stance of the bread and wine into that of His 
body and blood, which reduce themselves to 
the narrow limits of the Host, and yet 
produce themselves countless times. 

In the Most Holy Sacrament He is in- 
closed in a little Host, and in each particle 
of the Host He preserves the accidents 
without their substance, which is changed 
by the miracle of transubstantiation. He 
is at one and the same time in heaven, 
seated at the right hand of His Father, and 
on earth in millions of places, always the 
same and always entire. These are the daily 
miracles of His love for us, without speaking 
of several others which He has wrought 
from time to time to heighten the glory of 
this ineffable mystery. It is here that we 
are forced to cry out with St. Thomas: 
"My Lord and my God." None but a God 
could work such prodigies. None but a 



64 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



divine love could trace a plan replete with 
so many marvels, in order that he might 
unite Himself to us. 

Consider how He dwells with us in the 
guise of a prisoner and a slave. In that 
little tabernacle He submits Himself to a 
confinement such as our earthly prisoner 
endures. Why then should we not in return 
allow Him to make prisoners of our hearts? 
Why should we not say with tender gratitude : 
"Ah! my Lord, Thou hast done so much 
for me, and still Thou waitest through the 
long weary years for me to do something 
for Thee. Now is my turn. Take my life 
and make it Thine forever.' 7 

Let faith make its canticles of joy resound 
forever in the presence of this Sacrament of 
love; let charity send up to heaven the 
exultations of its happiness; let piety pro- 
claim its blessings; let purity pour forth its 
songs of triumph and love! 

"Sion, lift thy voice and sing; 

Praise thy Savior and thy king; 
See to-day before thee laid 

The living and life-giving bread! 
Theme for praise and joy profound! 

The same which at the sacred board 
Was, by our incarnate God, 

Giv'n to His apostles round. " 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 65 



"Come, O adorable Host, place Thyself 
on my heart as a divine seal which will make 
me known as the servant of the Most High, 
and will promote my admission into the 
heavenly Kingdom." 



(EtffStf) Ifteatimg; ana Etflectton 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

REVEREND FATHER MUELLER, 
priest of the Congregation of the Most 
Holy Reedemer, in his book, "Triumph of 
the Blessed Sacrament, or History of Nicola 
Aubry," relates the following miracle: 

This miracle was wrought by Jesus Christ 
in the Blessed Sacrament at Laon in France 
on the eighth of February, 1566. It oc- 
curred in the presence of more than a 
thousand people; in presence of all the 
ecclesiastical and civil authorities of the 
citjr, of Protestant and Catholics alike. It 
is indeed a remarkable fact that, as the devil 
made use of Luther, an apostate monk, to 
abolish the Mass and deny the Real Pres- 
ence, in like manner God made use of his 
arch enemy, the devil, to prove the Real 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 67 



Presence. He forced him publicly to pro- 
fess his firm belief in it, to confound the 
heretics for their disbelief, and acknowledge 
himself vanquished by our Lord in the 
Blessed Sacrament. For this purpose God 
allowed a certain Mme. Nicola Aubry, an 
innocent person, to become possessed by 
Beelzebub and twenty-nine other evil spirits. 
The possession took place on the eighth of 
November, 1565, and lasted until the eighth 
of February, 1566. Her parents took her to 
Father de Motta, a pious priest of Vervins, 
in order that he might expel the demon by 
the exorcisms of the Church. Father de 
Motta had tried several times to expel the 
evil spirit by applying the sacred relics of 
the Holy Cross, but he could not always 
succeed; Satan would not depart. At last, 
inspired by the Holy Ghost, he resolved to 
expel the devil by means of the Sacrament of 
our Lord's Body and Blood. Whilst Nicola 
was lying in this state of unnatural lethargy, 
Father de Motta placed the Blessed Sacra- 
ment upon her lips, and instantly the in- 
fernal spell was broken; Nicola was restored 
to consciousness, and received Holy Com- 
munion with every mark of devotion. As 
soon as Nicola had received the Sacred 



68 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



Body of our Lord, her face became bright 
and beautiful as the face of an angel, and all 
who saw her were filled with joy and wonder, 
and they blessed God from their inmost 
hearts. 

Here are some of the incidents previous to 
the miracle. On the arrival of the priest 
several of the non-Catholics went away — 
they had seen more than they wanted. 
Others, however, remained, and great was 
their terror when they saw how the devil 
writhed and howled in agony, as soon as the 
Blessed Sacrament was brought near her. 
At last the evil spirit departed, leaving 
Nicola in the state of unnatural trance. 
While she was in this state several of the 
preachers tried to open her eyes, but they 
found it impossible to do so. The priest 
then placed the Blessed Sacrament on 
Nicola's lips, and instantly she was re- 
stored to consciousness. Reverend Father de 
Motta then turned to the astonished ministers 
of the gospel, and said: "Go now, ye preach- 
ers of the new gospel; go and relate every- 
where what you have seen and heard. Do 
not deny any longer that our Lord Jesus 
Christ is really and truly present in the 
Blessed Sacrament of the Altar." 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 69 



After Nicola had been completely cured 
the people wept for joy and sang hymns of 
praise and thanksgiving in honor of God, 
and of our dear Lord in the Blessed Sacra- 
ment. On all sides were heard the exclama- 
tions: "Oh, what a great miracle! Oh, 
thank God that I witnessed it! Who is 
there now that could doubt of the Real Pres- 
ence of our Lord in the Sacrament of the 
Altar! " Many a non-Catholic also said: 
"I believe now in the Presence of our Lord 
in the Blessed Sacrament; I have seen it 
with my eyes; I will remain a Calvinist no 
longer. Oh, now I can understand what a 
good thing is the Holy Sacrifice of the 
Mass!" 

The Solemn Te Deum was intoned; the 
organ pealed forth, and the bells rung a merry 
chime. The whole city was filled with joy. 1 

St. Bonnet, Bishop of Clermont, a great 
servant of Mary, betook himself one night 
alone to a church in order to give himself 
more leisure and devotion to prayer. At 
the moment when his affections were most 
enkindled, he heard a sweet and ravishing 
melody, and soon the whole church was 

1 Ott: Euch., Les Merveilles divines dans la Sainte 
Euch. 



70 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



filled with light. He then saw the Blessed 
Virgin enter, accompanied by a great num- 
ber of angels and saints, who walked in pro- 
cession, chanting the praises of our Lord 
and His Holy Mother. Arrived at the altar, 
some of them asked who should celebrate 
Mass. Mary replied that her well-beloved 
Bonnet, bishop of the place, would celebrate. 
On hearing these words, the holy prelate 
was seized with fear, and so deeply pene- 
trated with the sentiment of his unworthi- 
ness, that he sought to hide himself, and on 
retiring fell against a stone, which miracu- 
lously softened and received the impression 
of his body. His humility, however, but 
rendered him more worthy of the honor 
which he fled; he was constrained to obey. 
Being conducted to the altar some saints 
met him, and he celebrated Mass in the 
midst of this glorious assemblage, assisted 
and served by the saints. After Mass Mary 
gave him a white alb of a material so fine 
and delicate that the like was never before 
seen on earth. It was afterwards shown as 
a very precious relic. 1 

1 Bolanden, Vol. III. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 71 



St. Nicholas of Tolentino was born in answer 
to the prayer of a holy mother, and vowed 
before his birth to the service of God, he 
never lost his baptismal innocence. His 
austerities were conspicuous even in the 
austere Order — the Hermits of St. Augus- 
tine, to which he belonged, and to remon- 
strances which were made by his superiors 
he only replied, "How can I be said to fast, 
while every morning at the altar I receive 
my God." He conceived an ardent charity 
for the Holy Souls, so near and yet so far 
from their Savior; and often after his Mass, 
it was revealed to him that the soul for whom 
he had offered the Holy Sacrifice had been 
admitted to the presence of God. Amidst 
his loving labors for God and man, he was 
haunted by fear of his own sinfulness. 
"The heavens," he said, "are not pure in 
the sight of Him whom I serve, how then shall 
I, a sinful man, stand before Him? 

St. Wenceslaus was educated in the true 
faith by his holy grandmother, Ludmilla, 
herself a martyr. It was by the efforts of 
this holy woman that he imbibed a special 
devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. Wen- 



72 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



ceslaus ruled his Kingdom as a brave and 
pious King, provided for all the needs of his 
people, and when his Kingdom was attacked 
by his wicked mother and his apostate 
brother, he overcame, in a single combat, the 
leader of an invading army. In the service 
of God he was most constant, and planted 
with his own hands the wheat and grapes 
for the Holy Mass, at which he never failed 
daily to assist. One night whilst praying 
before the Tabernacle, he received the death 
blow from his treacherous brother. 

St. Wenceslaus teaches us that the safest 
place to meet the trials of life, or to prepare 
for the stroke of death, is before Jesus in 
the Blessed Sacrament. 

Reflection 

We must acknowledge that suffering for 
love's sake always solicits compassion and 
that the greater the sufferings for the person 
beloved, the greater the commiseration. 
Hear Jesus pleading from His prison of love: 
"I am alone and poor in the Sacrament of 
My love. Night and day I dwell among 
My children, yet they visit Me not. My 
temples are deserted. My altars abandoned. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 73 



No one comes to adore his God in the solitude 
and poverty to which he is reduced by love. 
I am often for whole days, and even weeks 
in the tabernacle, and no one comes to adore 
Me, not even one faithful heart to pour out 
its affections at My feet. I am poor; 
dwelling in poverty in ruined and deserted 
places, on altars destitute of all ornament. 
My body is often consecrated on soiled 
linens, and My blood poured into unclean 
vessels. There is no abode of wretchedness 
and misery upon earth into which I do not 
enter, through My love for men. Ah! wilt 
thou be so ungrateful as to leave Me in 
solitude? Wilt thou desert Me in thy 
ingratitude? Wilt thou not frequently visit 
Me, and enjoy My holy company? Wilt 
thou not relieve My poverty and testify 
thy grateful love by decorating My temples 
and altars?' ' 

The offenses committed against our Lord 
in the Blessed Sacrament are inexpressibly 
great, but the saddest part of it all is that 
many of these offenses could be spared Him. 
Man's indifference to his lowly state in the 
tabernacle, — the Holy Eucharist so much 
neglected, so little loved, and so carelessly 
adored, is the cause of His greatest sorrow. 



74 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



He is sad because we are so ungrateful to 
Him, — so heartless in our relations with 
Him! During the Holy Hour, let us say 
with fervor, "0 dearest Jesus, may Thy 
Blessed Mother, together with the angels 
and saints, bless Thee in reparation for all 
the insults and offenses which Thy ungrate- 
ful creatures have committed or ever will 
commit against Thee to the end of time/' 
Offer this prayer in reparation for the cruel 
neglect that Jesus suffers in the Sacrament 
of His love; offer it for the sorrow of 
the outraged love of Jesus in the Blessed 
Sacrament. 

Prostrate before Thee, O Redeemer of 
men, we ask Thee to permit us during the 
Holy Hour to make Thee some reparation 
for all the injuries which men daily heap 
upon Thee. Divine Jesus, we offer Thee 
our hearts to console Thee by this homage 
for the guilt of those who will not know 
Thee, or knowing Thee will not love Thee. 
Bury us deep in Thy Sacred Heart where we 
shall find rest from the troubles of this life, 
peace at the hour of our death, and happiness 
for all eternity. 

"Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacra- 
ment! Our Lady of the Sacred Heart! 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 75 



Mother and Model of all adorers of the 
Blessed Sacrament, pray for us who seek 
Thy protection." 

"The Prisoner of Love 
'Tis Thou who reignest, mighty God! in majesty above, 

Yet hidest in this holy shrine, 
Love's Captive for my sake, 

Sweet Jesus, may my heart its home within Thy prison 
make." 




j£mt|) Iftea&mg; anti nttltttion 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

IN 1611, Mary Maximilian, sister of 
William V, Duke of Bavaria, was taken 
sick with acute pain in her breast. The 
physicians tried every remedy to procure 
some relief for her, but in vain. One day, 
the Duke spoke to his sister of the great 
wonders wrought by our Lord through a 
miraculous Host in the church of Holy Cross 
at Augsburg. On hearing an account of 
these wonders, Mary conceived great confi- 
dence in our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. 
She dismissed her physicians and caused 
herself to be carried from Munich to the 
church of the Holy Cross in Augsburg, where 
she asked our Lord in the miraculous Host 
to cure her. Her prayer was immediately 
granted, and unaided by anyone she rose up 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 77 



perfectly cured. To show her gratitude to 
our Lord, she had this miracle published in 
all the Catholic churches of Bavaria, and 
requested the clergy and the people to join 
with her in giving thanks to our Lord in the 
Blessed Sacrament for her miraculous cure. 1 



In 1747, a poor man in Augsburg who had 
been dumb from his infancy, and was known 
by all in the city, prayed several times to 
our Lord in the wonderful Host for the gift 
of speech but he was apparently unheard. 
One day, however, he prayed for the same 
favor with more than usual confidence and 
with many tears. This time God had mercy 
on him and granted his request. Filled with 
joy he ran home to make known the miracle 
which our Lord had wrought in him. After 
the Bishop had sufficiently convinced him- 
self of the miraculous fact, he had a solemn 
"Te Deum" chanted, and the bells of all 
the churches rang out in thanksgiving. 

The miraculous Host has often been ex- 
amined since, and every new examination 
furnishes additional proofs of the Real 

^ev. Michael Muller, C.SS.R.: The Holy Mass, page 
99. Ott: Euch., page 586. 



78 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



Presence. All the bishops of Augsburg to 
the present day have venerated and adored 
our Lord therein, thus forming a chain of 
the most trustworthy witnesses of the great 
truth. 1 

During the reign of King Louis XIV of 
France, we read an account about the Most 
Holy Eucharist in the Louvre at Paris. 

A fire had broken out in one of the gal- 
leries which connected the Palace of the 
Tuileries w T ith that of the Louvre, threaten- 
ing a general destruction to all the famous 
works of art therein collected. Every effort 
to control the devouring element seemed to 
be in vain, especially as a storm of wind 
fanned the flames to the very height of fury. 

Turenne, one of the king's bravest generals, 
who was never known to turn aside from any 
kind of danger, hurried at once to the scene 
of destruction, and proceeded to direct the 
men in their efforts to extinguish the flames. 
The learned Bishop Bossuet, who happened 
to be at the Palace, seeing the imminent 
danger, and following a divine impulse, 
hastened at once to Him "who commanded 
the winds and the w r aves, and they obeyed 

1 Rev. M. Mueller, C.SS.R. The Holy Mass, page 100. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 79 



Him." Hurrying into the chapel of the 
palace, he took the ciborium containing the 
Most Holy Sacrament, and suddenly ap- 
peared with it at the opposite end of the 
burning gallery. The men understood the 
sound of the little bell, and, separating on 
either side with the deepest respect, allowed 
the Bishop to pass through the cloud of 
smoke which surrounded him. He pro- 
nounced a benediction over the flames, and 
at once the wind ceased and the fire with- 
drew, as in acknowledgment of His presence 
who commands the storms. The surround- 
ing people, struck by the might and majesty 
of the miracle, fell on their knees and intoned 
the "Te Deum," while the great Turenne 
himself, subdued by the power to which he 
no longer offered any resistance, sank to 
the ground in adoration. 

From that moment Turenne, who had 
been a staunch Calvinist, became a Catholic, 
joining in the chant of the "Te Deum," as 
the Blessed Sacrament was carried back to 
the tabernacle. This wonderful occurrence 
took place in the year 1667. From the 
moment that Turenne learned the truth, he 
loved and followed it, putting into practice 
the sentiments which he once expressed 



80 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



previous to his conversion: "How happy are 
Catholics who believe in the Real Presence! 
But did they really believe it, would they not 
spend their whole lives at the feet of Jesus 
in the Blessed Sacrament? For my own 
part, were I convinced of the Real Presence 
of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, prostrate 
in the dust I would adore Him incessantly/ ' 
From the day of his conversion he was al- 
ways known to adore, with the deepest 
humility, devotion and faith, our divine 
Redeemer present in the Holy Eucharist. 1 

In the annals of the Propagation of the 
Faith, it is related that during the perse- 
cution which raged against the Christians 
in the kingdom of Tong-Quin, the power 
of the Eucharist was strikingly manifested 
to the infidels. Though the courageous 
martyrs were scourged and their flesh 
torn from their bones with red-hot pincers 
the Holy Name of Jesus was ever on their 
lips. The mandarins, not understanding 
the cause of their fortitude and amazed at 
their sublime endurance, attributed it to 

1 Fastes et Legendes par le Gaulie. Ott: Euch., page 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 81 



the Heavenly Food of which the Christians 
partook in their gatherings. "This man/' 
they would declare, "must have eaten of 
that enchanted Bread, which casts a spell 
upon the soul." 

The saints who are now enjoying in heaven 
what they so much loved on earth, how did 
they not long for this Bread of Love? 

St. Magdalen of Pazzi, from her earliest 
youth, felt herself burning with a desire to 
be united to her God by Holy Communion. 
Too young to receive this favor, she would 
draw near to her mother or to any one else 
who had the happiness of receiving our 
Blessed Lord, and enjoy the greatest delight 
in breathing near them the holy odor of the 
presence of our Lord. Her confessor, noticing 
this remarkable devotion to the Holy Eu- 
charist, concluded to anticipate in her regard 
the time at which children were permitted to 
approach the Holy Table. Magdalen joined 
the Carmelite Order solely because she knew 
that the religious of that Order went to Com- 
munion every day. It was this saint who 
sometimes cried out in holy transports: "O 
love! love of my God! can it be that love 
will not be loved, not even by its own crea- 



82 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



tures? my Jesus! why have I not a voice 
loud enough to reach the ends of the earth? 
I would proclaim everywhere that this love 
ought to be known, loved, esteemed as the 
only true good, the one only good." 1 

Blessed Joanna of the Cross was watching 
in the church one Christmas eve. It had 
hardly struck twelve, when an irresistible 
longing seized her soul for the Blessed Sac- 
rament, and she sent her maid to request 
her confessor to come and give her Holy 
Communion. He answered her summons at 
once, and when she had received the body of 
the Lord, her usually pale cheeks became 
aflame with a heavenly glow. 

Reflection 

Have we ever considered how much we 
contribute to the sorrows of Jesus by leaving 
Him so often alone in the Most Holy Sac- 
rament? He has left heaven, where, sur- 
rounded by myriads of angels, He received 
ceaseless adoration, just to be near frail, 
mortal man. Why cannot men imitate the 
celestial spirits and stay forever near His 
altar-throne? 

1 Krebes: her Life, 1857. Ott: Euch., page 404. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 



83 



To surround Himself by His creatures 
therein is His delight and His joy. But He 
is forsaken by His children and left lonely 
and desolate, — and that is how we solace 
Him in His longing! Yet, how easily men 
could accede to His wishes and spend at 
least a portion of their time in the seclusion of 
the sanctuary. Jesus, ever present in the 
tabernacle! How this very thought should 
make our churches a sweet abiding place for 
all! Your loneliness here, my God, is far 
greater than it was of old in the desert. 
There, at least, living creatures bore you 
company, — but here how often is the 
feeble light that burns before your taber- 
nacle the only companion of # your loneliness! 
In many churches its flickering beams are 
Your only worshipers in the busy hours of 
the day as well as the lonely watches of the 
night. 

Strange it is that man has time for every- 
thing except the adoration of his God, strange 
that streets and theaters can ever be crowded, 
while the Church of the Most High remains 
empty. Weep, then, over Jesus, insulted in 
the Sacrament of His love more cruelly than 
He was ever insulted on Calvary. Weep 
over the negligence and crimes of those who 



84 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



offend Him most, though perhaps they 
were once His favored friends. Ward off 
by your worship the dishonor brought to 
bear upon Him in His very temple by 
irreverence, profanation, yes, even by 
unworthy Communions. 

During this Holy Hour, then, let us 
resolve to visit our Lord in the tabernacle 
oftener, that thereby we may make amends 
for those neglected Christians who have 
time for every one but for Him. Let us 
adore Him with humility and love, seeking 
by imposing some little penance upon our- 
selves to make reparation for our own as 
well as the negligence of others. 

"I have loved, Lord, the beauty of Thy 
house, and the places where Thy glory 
dwelleth. I have walked in my innocence: 
Redeem me and have mercy on me. My 
foot has stood in the direct way: in the 
churches I will bless Thee, Lord." 

"0 sweet Jesus, may my heart be a burn- 
ing lamp of love before Thy altar." 



Cents Ifteairine; ana Reflection 

MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

IN the life of St. Bernard of Clairvaux a 
miracle is recorded showing the power of 
the Real Presence over Satan. St. Bernard 
was commissioned by Pope Innocent II to 
restore order to the city of Milan, which 
had been desolated like the rest of Italy by 
the schism of the Antipope Anacletus. 

One day, whilst preparing to say Mass in 
the Basilica of St. Ambrose, an old woman 
was carried into the church and placed near 
the altar. This old lady had been possessed 
by the devil for several years. Her perse- 
cutor continually choked her. His repeated 
attacks caused her to lose her hearing, sight, 
and speech. She gnashed her teeth. Her 
distorted face excited terror. When St. Ber- 
nard had looked upon this unfortunate crea- 



86 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



ture, he understood that the demon was 
profoundly rooted and, as it were, incorpo- 
rated in her; and that he would not easily 
leave a dwelling occupied by him for many 
years. 

The man of God turned to the people who 
filled the Basilica, inviting them to pray 
fervently. Then, surrounded by the priests 
and religious, who remained near him at the 
foot of the altar, he ordered the woman to 
be brought to him and to be held fast. But 
she resisted. She writhed in horrible con- 
vulsions in the midst of her guards. She 
even struck the foot of the saint. But Ber- 
nard, calm and unmoved, ascended the altar 
and began Holy Mass. Whenever he made 
the sign of the Cross over the oblations, he 
turned toward the possessed woman and re- 
peated the same ceremony. Satan testified, 
by an increase of fury and by howls, how 
keenly he felt the power of this weapon. 

The Lord's prayer finished, St. Bernard 
prepared to attack the enemy still more 
closely. He took in his hand the paten on 
which he had placed the Sacred Body of the 
Lord and elevated it above the head of the 
unfortunate creature, saying: " Behold thy 
Judge, spirit of evil, behold the Almighty! 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 87 



Resist now if thou canst. It is by the 
power of this terrible Majesty that I order 
thee, infernal spirit, to depart from the body 
of this servant of God and never return 
to it." 

The demon, forced to surrender, wished at 
least, before acknowledging himself con- 
quered, to display his fury and torment his 
victim with renewed violence. The holy 
abbot reascended the altar, continued the 
Holy Sacrifice, broke the Host, and gave the 
kiss of peace to the deacon, who communi- 
cated it to the whole assembly. At the 
same moment, calm and health were re- 
stored to the poor woman; for Satan fled 
with cries of rage, demonstrating by his de- 
feat the efficacy and power of the Prisoner 
of the Tabernacle. 1 

In the year 1239 a fearful war desolated 
Spain: the Moors, long masters of the 
kingdom of Valentia, disputed with the 
Catholics for the possession of that ancient 
conquest of the Koran. One day a multitude 
of these infidels attacked a small army of a 
thousand Christians who had taken refuge 

1 Liber Miraculorum. Herbert. Abbe Favre: Le Ciel 
Ouvert. 



88 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



in a castle. The small number of the be- 
sieged left no doubt as to the issue of the 
battle. Without earthly hope, the heroic 
troop turned to heaven, desiring to arm 
themselves with the aid of the sacraments. 
But time was precious, the enemy was near, 
and priests were wanting to hear their con- 
fessions and distribute the Bread of heaven. 
Six of the principal leaders, therefore, were 
chosen to partake of the Blessed Eucharist 
in the name of the others, who kept armed 
watch readj r to repulse an attack. 

The six brave men confessed, and stationed 
themselves around the altar. Already had 
the priest consecrated the Hosts for Holy 
Communion, when the signal of the Moors' 
approach was sounded. The officers seized 
their arms and flew to the common defense. 
The priest, on his part, in order not to expose 
the Sacred Hosts, hurriedly folded them in 
the corporal and hid them under a stone. 
But our Lord did not refuse them the assist- 
ance they expected from His almighty arm. 
The enemy was put to flight. Filled with 
gratitude for their success the valiant officers 
returned to receive Holy Communion in 
thanksgiving. The priest hastened to bring 
the corporal from its hiding-place. But, O 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 89 



wonder! unfolding it on the altar, he found 
the Sacred Hosts stained with drops of 
blood and adhering to the corporal. With 
one voice the people attributed their victory 
to this redeeming Blood. 

The miraculous corporal was brought to 
Daroca, the city in which dwelt the priest 
who had consecrated the miraculous Hosts. 
Kings, princes, and great lords have gone 
there to render homage. Ambassadors were 
sent to Pope Urban IV charged to give him 
an authentic account of all these facts. 
The Pontiff granted numerous indulgences. 
Charles Fifth and Empress Isabella visited 
the spot after three hundred years had 
passed and found the Hosts still intact. 1 

One day as Frederic IV, King of Prussia, 
was passing through the Rhenish Province, 
a certain cowherd approached the Royal 
carriage, and commenced playing as artisti- 
cally as he could on his rude horn. The 
King, admiring the simplicity and token of 
honor of the cowherd, presented him with 
a piece of gold, to repay him for the loyalty 
he had exhibited towards his Sovereign. 
Now if this earthly Prince so readily re- 

1 Miracle Euch. Pere Couet, S.S.S. Sentinel of the 
Blessed Sac. Vol. XIX. 



90 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



warded this slight act of honor, how much 
more readily will not our Lord pour out His 
graces upon all those who come to honor 
Him, in the Blessed Sacrament, for ever so 
short a time. 

Our Lord manifested this readiness to 
Blessed Balthasar Alvarez, when once kneel- 
ing before the altar. He showed Himself 
in the Sacred Host as a little child with His 
hands full of precious stones, saying: "If 
there were only some one to whom I might 
distribute them." Are you then in temporal 
want. Go to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. 
St. Norbert, who was of noble rank and rare 
talents, passed a most pious youth, and en- 
tered the ecclesiastical state. Commissioned 
by the Pope, he preached penance to the list- 
ening crowds in France and the Netherlands. 
In the wild vale of Premontre he gave to some 
trained disciples the rule of St. Austin, and 
a white habit to denote the angelic purity 
proper to the priesthood. The Canons Reg- 
ular renewed the spirit of the priesthood, 
quickened the faith of the people, and drove 
out heresy. A vile heretic, named Tankelin, 
appeared at Antwerp, in the time of St. 
Norbert, and denied the reality of the 
priesthood, and especially blasphemed the 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 91 



Blessed Eucharist. The Saint was sent to 
drive out the pest. By his burning words 
he exposed the impostor and rekindled the 
faith in the Blessed Sacrament. Many of 
the apostates had proved their contempt for 
the Blessed Sacrament, by burning it in 
filthy places. Norbert bade them search for 
the Sacred Hosts. They found them entire 
and unimpaired, and the Saint bore them 
back in triumph to the tabernacle. Hence he 
is generally painted with the monstrance in 
his hand. 

Reflection 

"And where is the Christian/' says St. 
Gregory the Great, "who can doubt that at 
the words of the priest the heavens open, 
that the choirs of angels assist at the sacred 
mysteries in order to pay the reverence to 
Jesus Christ; that there is established an 
intercourse between heaven and earth, be- 
tween the things above and the things be- 
neath, that an ineffable union of the visible 
with the invisible takes place?" 

"The angels," says St. Leo, "venerate the 
body of our Lord, and protect the faithful 
who are present." And these same angels 
have frequently appeared in a sensible form 



92 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



to favorite souls. St. Nilus, speaking of St. 
Chrysostom, says: "That admirable bishop, 
the glory of the whole universe, saw almost 
continually the house of God filled with 
choirs of angels, but above all when he 
offered up the divine sacrifice, and he could 
not, even in his private conversation, conceal 
his admiration and joy on the subject." 
The holy doctor in his address to the faith- 
ful frequently reminded them that the angels 
adore and love the hidden God: — "When," 
says he, "the sacrifice is offered, heaven opens 
and the angels descend. Yes, behold the 
celestial spirits present in the sanctuary, 
where they sing hymns in honor of the 
great King enthroned upon the altar. The 
angels are there prostrate before our Com- 
mon Lord, archangels are there who profit 
by the moment of offering to address their 
prayers to Him." 

"Oh! do not allow your thoughts to 
wander upon earth, but keep yourself recol- 
lected by reflecting that although composed 
of flesh and bone, you are admitted to the 
society of the heavenly spirits to sing forever 
the praises of our universal Master." 

During the Holy Hour the Church calls 
upon all Christians to offer their adoration to 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 93 



Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, to praise Him, 
to thank Him, to express their love to Him. 
How surpassingly wonderful is the gift 
which our Lord bestows upon us in the 
Blessed Sacrament. He gives Himself to 
us whole and entire in His divinity, for did 
not Christ at the last supper say clearly 
and plainly to His Apostles: "This (which 
I have in My hand, which appears to you as 
bread) is My Body!" 

Nowadays, people pervert the words of 
Christ by saying that there is nothing more 
wonderful in this Sacrament than in any 
other. But how far from the truth have 
they not wandered! That which you re- 
ceive is our Lord Himself, the great God 
of heaven and earth. 

"He loved them to the end." Truly, 
this one sentence is an abridgment of Christ's 
entire life. If he had not loved us, there 
would have been no abject poverty in the 
stable at Bethlehem, no common toil in the 
workshop at Nazareth, no unceasing ac- 
tivity after souls during the three years of 
His public life, and above all, no Sacrament 
of the altar, and no death upon the cross. 
Learn from all this the excessive love Jesus 
bears to every one of His children. He 



94 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



would have us made one with Himself. 
Therefore, He has established this Sacrament 
of Love. 

How sweet and how profitable it is to enter 
into the practices of devotion to the Holy 
Eucharist. What consolation and what 
treasures of grace the soul finds in her rela- 
tions with God. How could we seek else- 
where the joys which our heart needs? It is 
there they exist, as the Saints experienced, 
and as we shall experience, if we have their 
devotion and zeal for the Most Holy Sacra- 
ment; if we share, for instance, in the admir- 
able dispositions of St. Liguori when he 
says: "0 Lord Jesus! enkindle in me an 
ardent desire to remain always in Thy 
presence, at the foot of Thine altars, to keep 
company there with Thee, to receive Thee 
into my heart. Oh, deign to attract me 
towards Thee by the perfumes of Thy 
sacred beauty and the infinite love Thou 
dost manifest in the Most Holy Sacrament.' ' 

Animated by these sentiments let us adore, 
love, and glorify the Divine Eucharist which 
shall be our strength, our peace, our joy, 
the whole time of our pilgrimage, and whose 
virtue will make us attain to eternal 
happiness. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 95 



"May the Heart of Jesus in the most 
Blessed Sacrament be praised, adored and 
loved with grateful affection, at every mo- 
ment, in all the tabernacles of the world, 
even to the end of time." 



CSIebentf) Ifteatimg; anb ISUtlectton 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

MAXIMILIAN I, Emperor of Germany, 
sometimes called the "Last Knight," 
for his chivalrous character, was in his 
youth remarkable for high courage and love 
of adventure, which at times led him to 
feats of rash daring. Among the many 
lands over which he ruled, none was so dear 
to him as the mountainous Tyrol, because 
hunting among the Tyrolese Alps was one 
of his chief pleasures. 

On Easter Monday, in the year 1493, the 
young Emperor, who was staying in the 
vicinity of Innsbruck, rose before dawn for 
a day's chamois hunting. He took with him 
a few courtiers and some experienced hunt- 
ers. At sunrise they were already high up 
on the mountain pastures, which are the 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 97 



favorite haunts of the chamois: the valleys 
beneath them were still covered by a sea of 
white mist. Maximilian fixed a longing gaze 
on the rocky summits. "I wish/' said he, 
"that I could gain today some spot where 
the foot of man has never trod before, and 
where no man should be able to follow. 
That would be the spot for the throne of the 
Emperor. " 

At this moment, one of the huntsmen gave 
notice that he had sighted some chamois; 
the whole party, guided by him, cautiously 
approached a rocky point, behind which the 
animal was grazing. On this point of rock 
stood a single chamois, its graceful head 
raised, as if to watch. Maximilian, on its 
track, had soon distanced his attendants. 
One moment he paused, then with a light 
spring gained the other side, while a shout 
burst from his astonished suite. He had 
leaped too far and in vain Max gazed around 
for some way to escape. And then his wish 
of the morning occurred to him. How liter- 
ally it had been fulfilled! And how little 
could the Emperor exult in his lofty and airy 
throne! He merely felt with a shudder his 
own exceeding littleness in the face of the 
great realities of Nature and Nature's God. 



98 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



Beneath, in the valley of Zierlein, a shep- 
herd was watching his flock. He observed 
a dark speck moving on the face of the rock 
called St. Martin's Wall. "It's a man!" he 
cried; "what witchcraft has brought him 
there?" And he ran to tell the wonder to 
his neighbors. Soon a little crowd col- 
lected and stood gazing up at St. Martin's 
Wall. "God be with him!" was the excla- 
mation of all. "He can never leave that 
spot alive — he must perish of hunger!" 
The Emperor's attendants gazed at the 
figure and at each other in horror. One of 
them had a speaking trumpet. He raised it 
to his mouth, and cried at the pitch of his 
voice: "If it is the Emperor who stands 
there, we pray him to cast down a stone." 
There was a breathless hush of suspense, 
and down came the stone, crashing into the 
roof of a cottage. 

A loud cry of lamentation broke from the 
people and was echoed on every side among 
the mountains. For they loved their young 
Emperor. The sound of the wail reached 
Max's ears and raised his hopes. He drew 
from his pocket a small parchment book, 
tore out a blank leaf, and wrote on it with a 
pencil, then tied the parchment to a stone 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 



99 



with some gold ribbon which he happened 
to have with him, and let the stone fall 
down into the valley. A second and a 
third time he repeated the message — still 
there was silence. Max came to the con- 
clusion that all hope must be over for him. 
If he was to die, he would die as became a 
king and a Christian — if this world were 
vanishing from him, he would lay firm hold 
of the next. 

Again he tore a leaf from his book and 
wrote on it. And from that high and airy 
grave he threw the stone down among the 
living. It was found. The man who found 
the stone read the letter aloud to the as- 
sembled crowd, for the Emperor's messages 
were addressed to all Tyrol. And this was 
the last message : 

"Oh, Tyrol, my last warm thanks to thee 
for thy love which has so long been faithful 
to me. In my pride I tempted God, and 
my life is now the penalty. I know that no 
help is possible. God's will be done. Yet, 
one thing, good friends, you can do for me. 
Send a messenger to Zierlein at once for the 
Holy Sacrament, for which my soul thirsts. 
And when the priest is standing by the river, 
let it be announced to me by a shot, and let 



100 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



another shot tell me when I am to receive 
the blessing. And when I pray you unite 
your prayers with mine to the great Helper 
in time of need, that He may strengthen me 
to endure the pains of a lingering death. 
Max." 

Off sped the messenger to Zierlein, and in 
all haste came the priest. Max heard the 
shot, and, looking down, could see the white 
robe of the priest standing by the river, 
which looked like a little silver thread to 
him. He threw himself on his knees pray- 
ing that he might be a spiritual partaker of 
Christ, though he could not receive in body 
the signs of salvation. Then the second shot 
rang on the air, and through the speaking- 
trumpet came the words of the blessing: 
"May God's blessing be upon thee in thy 
great need — the blessing of the Father, the 
Son, and the Holy Ghost, Whom heaven and 
earth praise forever." 

The Emperor felt a deep peace filling his 
heart as the words of the blessing were 
wafted to his ear. Beneath, in the deep- 
purple shade of the valley, the people all 
knelt and the Emperor could hear the faint 
murmur which told him that they were pray- 
ing for him. Touched by their sympathy 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 101 



he continued kneeling in prayer for the 
welfare of his subjects. 

Suddenly a bright gleam flashed on his 
eyes, and a figure in a flicker, and a dazzle 
of light stood before him. 

"Lord Emperor/ ' it spoke, " follow me. I 
know the mountains well, and every path in 
them." Downward they went, miles and 
miles downward, till at last the ravine 
opened into a long, nearly flat-bottomed 
cavern, at the end of which the torch and 
bearer vanished. Max groped his way and 
at last he found himself in the valley of 
Zierlein, and afar off he heard the confused 
noise of an assembled multitude. He fol- 
lowed the sound till he reached the foot of 
St. Martin's wall, and saw priest and people 
still kneeling in prayer for him. Deeply 
moved he stepped into their midst and cried : 
" Praise the Lord with me, my people! 
See, he has delivered me." 

The Emperor was never able to discover 
who had been the instrument of his won- 
drous rescue. A report soon spread among 
the people that an angel had saved him. In- 
deed, we may firmly believe that it was an 
angel of the Lord that saved the Emperor's 
life. This great monarch had made a solemn 



102 READINGS AXD REFLECTIONS 



profession of faith in the Real Presence. 
Ah! how much has he not edified the whole 
world by this lively faith in the Real Presence. 1 

St. Thomas a Kempis makes mention of a 
young man who was deprived of the sight of 
the Host during Holy Mass no matter how 
near he was to the sanctuary. As this state 
of things lasted for two years and as he was 
constantly tormented by scruples and qualms 
of conscience, he determined to consult a 
learned theologian on the subject. It de- 
veloped that the young man bore inveterate 
hatred to a neighbor, and refused to be 
reconciled with him. Thereupon the con- 
fessor explained to him that our Lord was 
thus demonstrating that though he was 
present at Mass in person, he did not, on 
account of his want of charity, share in any 
of the spiritual benefits of the Holy Sacri- 
fice. The young man, having pardoned his 
enemy and made his peace with God, was 
henceforth able to see the Sacred Host. 

St. Catherine of Sienna burned with so 
great a desire to unite herself to her divine 

1 Eischsfld. Erbauungsstunden Nr. 25. Sendbt. D. 
goettl. Herz Jesu, Heft 12. 1880. Dauroltius, C. 3. lit 37. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 103 



Spouse in the Holy Eucharist, that she 
visibly wasted away, and appeared to have 
no other life than Jesus. Her only food 
during several lenten seasons was the Blessed 
Sacrament of the Altar. Her confessor, 
having once refused, no doubt unjustly, to 
permit her to communicate, was punished 
for it during Mass. At the Communion of 
the Mass he was very much perplexed, for 
he found only half of the Host. "Do not 
trouble yourself/' said the saint to the 
celebrant, when the Mass was over: "God 
has granted to me what you refused. The 
angel of the Lord communicated me with 
the particle of the Host which has disap- 
peared/' This was a severe lesson for her 
confessor, and after that he allowed the 
saint to go to Communion every day. 1 

The Archduke Ferdinand and [ the 
Duchess of Hohenberg were both very 
pious and great lovers of the Blessed 
Sacrament. 

Prince Ferdinand was one day at a country 
place in a little village on the confines of 
Marienbad. After registering at the hotel, 

1 Drane: History of Catherine of Sienna. Emile Chavin 
v. Malan: Her Life. 



104 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



his next care was to go for a visit to the 
Blessed Sacrament. As it was already rather 
late in the evening, he found the door of the 
church closed. "Where does the sacristan 
live?" asked the Archduke of some children 
who were playing nearby. "You mean the 
Cure. . . . You have only to take the first 
street to the right/' answered the children. 
Having secured the key from the village 
Cure, he returned to the little church where, 
alone before the Blessed Sacrament, he 
recited his evening prayer. 

The Duchess, his wife, always most faith- 
ful in her assistance at the sacred services 
performed in her chateau, was not satisfied 
with piously hearing Mass herself, but took 
particular pains that her husband also ful- 
filled that great Christian duty. 

A veterinary surgeon had been summoned 
on one occasion from Vienna to the Palace. 
His duties caused him some delay in return- 
ing that evening to his home. The next 
day being Sunday, the Princess had given 
orders to her chaplain to say Mass an hour 
before train time so that the doctor might 
comply with his religious duties. 1 

1 Tabernakelwacht, 1895. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 105 



Reflection 

How beautiful is the love of Jesus, since 
He has not refused His holiest gift, the 
Blessed Sacrament, to those even who dese- 
crate His law! He does not refuse it pro- 
vided only they have been reconciled to Him 
in the Sacrament of Penance. And how 
easy it is for each one of us to receive both 
Penance and Holy Eucharist! It only re- 
quires a few steps to the nearest church, 
where we shall always find a priest ready 
to hear our heart-broken tale, and break for 
us the Bread of Life. Far easier is it for us 
to attain these great gifts than to acquire 
the enjoyment of worldly goods. What 
affliction does not the pursuit of the latter 
entail! What sleepless nights! What years 
of steady striving and weary waiting! Our 
Lord would have a perfect right to demand 
like trials of us in order to enjoy the precious 
boon of the Holy Eucharist, yet how differ- 
ently does He act! And not only does He 
grant His greatest gifts to the holy ones of 
earth, but sinners too have a claim on His 
bounty and generosity. "He maketh His 
sun shine on the just and the unjust." He 
appears daily on the altar during Holy Mass, 
and He is often enthroned in the monstrance 



106 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



to pour His Divine Benediction on all those 
who care to receive it. The greatest sinner 
comes here, and, though still in sin, may 
carry with him from Mass and Benediction 
the grace to be reconciled once more to his 
God. The Sacrament of Penance is offered 
to such with a wonderful love, the love of a 
devoted father to an erring son. 

It is the preparation of love, above all, 
that the saints brought to the Holy Eucharist. 
They said to our Lord: "0 only Son, be- 
loved of the Father, I acknowledge that 
Thou art the object most deserving of being 
loved! I desire to love Thee as much as 
Thou deservest, as much at least as a soul 
can love. I feel too well that I do not de- 
serve that Thou shouldst come to me, but 
I know that Thou seekest my love, God 
of goodness, and I hear Thee say to me, 
'My son, give Me thy heart/ " 

During this Holy Hour the invitation is 
extended to us , to spend these precious 
moments before the tabernacle. God of 
all love, accept my heart, and, in coming to 
reside there, change it, purify it, inflame it. 

"I wish for Thee only, my Jesus, and I 
take no repose but when I rest on Thy divine 
Heart in Holy Communion. " 



Ctodttl) Ifteainng ana Inflection 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

ST. PAUL the hermit had received from 
God the gift of the penetration of hearts. 
By means of this gift he could discover the 
most secret thoughts of his fellow-man. On 
Sundays when the hermits went to hear Mass 
he often stayed at the entrance of the 
church, in order to tell those who in the 
state of mortal sin entered the house of God, 
to repent of and do penance for their evil 
deeds. One day he saw a man go to church 
whose face was quite disfigured, and who 
was followed by several evil spirits who 
kept him chained and pulled him to the 
right and to the left. His guardian angel 
followed at a distance, with great compassion 
for the unhappy man. At this lamentable 
sight the holy hermit commenced to shed 



108 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



bitter tears; he struck his breast and greatly 
sympathized with the poor wretched sinner. 
But wonderful to relate, after Mass was over, 
he saw that great sinner come out with a 
bright countenance, and his guardian angel 
close by him. Full of joy he exclaimed: 
"0 most inconceivable, most wonderful 
mercy of God! Behold, my brethren, I saw 
this man enter the church with a black face 
and surrounded by several evil spirits; and 
now, on coming out, I see him beautiful and 
bright like an angel." Then turning to that 
sinner he said: "Give honor to God, and tell 
us in what state you entered the church." 
"I am a great sinner," said he; "I have 
spent many years in debauchery; but when 
I heard in the epistle of the Mass the words 
of the prophet Isaias, 'Wash yourselves, be 
clean, take away the evil of your devices 
from my eyes/ etc., 'if your sins be as scarlet, 
they shall be made white as snow/ I en- 
tered into myself and said to God: 'O my 
Lord Thou who earnest into this world to 
save poor sinners, save me, the most wretched 
of sinners/ These were the sentiments of 
my heart during Mass. I firmly resolved 
never more to offend Almighty God. I be- 
sought the Lord to forgive me and to receive 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 109 



me once more in mercy. With these senti- 
ments I left the church. " Now, when the 
hermits heard this, they exclaimed: "Ah! 
how great is the mercy of God! He bestows 
the grace of conversion upon sinners in the 
Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and receives them 
again into His sacred embraces." 1 

A very pious virgin named Amelia Lautard 
of Marseilles was very sensitive to every 
outrage offered to God. There was, how- 
ever, one at which she seemed to be more 
pained than at all the rest. This was the 
ingratitude of men and the cruel neglect of 
our Savior in His Eucharistic prison. Dur- 
ing her solitary virgils before the altar, she 
conceived an ardent desire to make some 
reparation to the outraged love of Jesus 
Christ. The idea occurred to her of insti- 
tuting a community whose mission should be 
to give thanks and console our divine Savior 
for the ingratitude of the world by perpetual 
adoration before the Tabernacle, and at the 
same time of getting up a regular service of 
thanksgiving among the faithful at large, to 
have short prayers appointed and recom- 
mended by the Church to their constant 
1 Lives of the Fathers of the Desert, Lib. V. 



110 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



use, for the sole and express purpose of 
thanking God for His countless mercies to 
us all, but more especially to those among 
us who never thank Him on their own 
account. In order to carry out these sug- 
gestions more effectively, she went to Rome 
to obtain the authorization and blessing of 
the Pope. She received the most affection- 
ate welcome, for the Holy Father had been 
long acquainted with her by name and 
knew the apostolic manner of life she led. 
He approved of her design, encouraged her 
to carry it out, and gave his blessing to the 
work. She was in the habit of recommend- 
ing to her friends the use of the Gloria Patri 
and the ejaculation Deo Gratias, as having 
been particularly recommended to her de- 
votion by the Holy Father himself. 

An incident occurred to Amelia during her 
stay in Rome, which she often narrated as 
a proof of the extreme need we have of 
a service of thanksgiving. She went one 
morning to an audience at the house of a 
cardinal, and while waiting for her turn, 
she entered into a conversation with the 
superior of the Redemptorist Fathers in 
France. Always on the watch to gain an 
ally to the cause, she told him the motive of 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 111 



her journey to Rome, and begged that he 
would use his influence in his own wide 
sphere to forward its success amongst souls. 
"Ah! madam!" exclaimed the Redempto- 
rist," "it was a good thought to try and stir 
up men's hearts to a spirit of thanksgiving, 
for there is nothing more wanting in the 
world. I have been forty years a priest, and 
during that time I have been asked to say 
Masses for every sort of intention, but only 
once have I been asked to say a Mass of 
thanksgiving." 1 

The Rev. Anthony Urbanek, who, in the 
years 1847 and 1848, exercised the functions 
of the holy ministry in the city of Milwaukee, 
in the State of Wisconsin, gave the following 
account of a wonderful conversion wrought 
by the recital of the "Hail Mary": He fre- 
quently visited a Protestant family by the 
name of Pollworth, natives of Hanover, but 
then residing a few hours' drive from Mil- 
waukee. After a short time Mrs. Pollworth 
joined the Catholic Church, but her husband 
remained obstinate, and would often say 
that he would never become a Catholic. 
He would not even allow his children to be 
baptized, although his wife resorted to every 

1 Catholic World, 1873. 



112 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



possible means to obtain his consent. All 
who knew him used to say it would require 
nothing less than a miracle to make a Catho- 
lic of Poll worth. The priest continued his 
visits, and their conversation generally fell 
upon the truths of Catholicity. But every 
effort to convince Mr. Pollworth was in vain; 
he had always a thousand objections to pre- 
sent. On one of these visits, after having 
long and uselessly endeavored to open the 
eyes of his headstrong friend to the truth of 
the Catholic faith, Rev. Mr. Urbanek at last 
said to him: "I see well, Mr. Pollworth, that 
I can do nothing with you." At that moment 
the good priest was suddenly inspired with 
a feeling of extraordinary confidence in the 
intercession of the Blessed Virgin, and, 
continuing to address Air. Pollworth, he 
added: ''But you must, at least, promise 
me one thing." "What may that be?" 
asked his friend in the Low German dialect. 
"I will tell you after you will have promised 
it," answered Rev. Mr. Urbanek. "It is not 
difficult, and you can conscientiously do it." 
After a good deal of argument, Mr. Pollworth 
finally promised to do what might be asked of 
him. "Then," said the priest, "say on every 
Sunday henceforth one 'Hail Mary' for my 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 113 


! intention, and you will, in a short time, 
experience a great change in your feelings. " 
Mr. Pollworth laughed at these words; 
but he kept his promise faithfully. About 
fourteen days after the promise was made, 
i he suddenly accosted his wife thus: "I am 
going to Milwaukee now, to buy some new 
clothes for the children. 7 J The astonished 
wife asked: "But why at this time so particu- 
larly?" "Well, I have at last made up my 
mind to let the children be baptized," was his 
reply. The news spread like wild-fire through 
the entire neighborhood. "Pollworth has, 
at length, consented to have his children 
baptized," was in every one's mouth. 

He, moreover, begged the Rev. Mr. Ur- 
banek to have the ceremony performed with 
the greatest solemnity. The Rev. Pastor 
invited another Priest and two Clerics to 
assist at the baptism, which took place before 
High Mass. After Mass, the Most Blessed 
Sacrament was exposed and the hymn 
"Pange Lingua" sung by the choir. The 
newly baptized children stood close to the 
altar steps, and their father immediately 
behind them. During the singing of the 
hymn, it suddenly occurred to Mr. Pollworth 
to look at the Blessed Sacrament, but being 



114 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



forced by the immense crowd that was press- 
ing towards the sanctuary to stand, if he 
would not kneel upon his children, he feared 
lest a free glance at the Sacred Host might 
have the appearance of irreverence. How- 
ever, he was •not long able to resist the 
inclination. He looked towards the altar 
and saw the Sacred Host as it always is; 
but, it soon increased to the size of a mill- 
stone, and in the center of it there appeared 
the Good Shepherd with a lamb upon His 
shoulders. This sight did not perplex the 
man: he wished to convince himself of what 
he seemed to see. He accordingly closed one 
eye for a while and thus looked at the appa- 
rition, and then again with both eyes, until 
he was fully satisfied that there was no 
illusion in the matter. Besides, it was a 
clear noonday, and he was standing scarcely 
two steps from the altar. After the lapse 
of about five minutes, the vision disappeared, 
and the sacred host resumed its original 
appearance. On leaving the church, Poll- 
worth asked some of his neighbors whether 
they had seen nothing singular during the 
divine service; but when he perceived that 
they knew nothing of the apparition, he said 
no more. The next day he invited the priest 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 115 



to pay him a visit, and as soon as Rev. Mr. 
Urbanek entered the house, Pollworth said: 
"Now, indeed, is the lost sheep at last found, 
after its long straying among the briers. I 
wish to become a Catholic." A few days 
later he was received into the Church, and 
after he had made his Profession of Faith, 
he solemnly attested by oath to the truth 
of the vision above related. On the same 
day a bigoted Calvinist was baptized. Upon 
the simple assurance of Mr. Pollworth of 
what had taken place he had been converted. 
The Right Rev. Bishop granted to the con- 
gregation of the church, in which the wonder 
had taken place, the privilege of having, on 
every 16th of July, the day of the apparition, 
a solemn procession with the Blessed Sacra- 
ment, exactly as on Corpus Christi. Poll- 
worth and his family always go to Holy 
Communion on this day. 1 

How good and merciful is the Lord! He 
is the Good Shepherd who leaves the ninety- 
nine sheep in the mountains, and goes in 
search of the one that is lost. He follows 
it when it goes astray; constantly pursues 
its footsteps, and does not rest until He has 
found it and brought it back to His fold. 

1 Blessed Euch. Michael Muller. 



116 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



During the time of St. Otto in England, 
some of the clergy are said to have reached 
such an unfortunate frame of mind that they 
doubted the Real Presence. Otto in his dis- 
tress asked God to enlighten the unbelievers, 
and the Almighty was pleased to hear the 
saint's request. 

One day in the cathedral at Canterbury, 
while St. Otto was celebrating Mass in the 
presence of the clergy, at the breaking of the 
Host after the consecration, all present saw 
two large drops of blood falling into the 
chalice. All who doubted were called to the 
altar by the Archbishop, and on witnessing 
the miracle were filled with gratitude that 
God had deigned to enlighten their blind- 
ness, and humbly asked pardon for their 
incredulity. 1 

St. Theresa felt such a longing desire for 
Jesus in Holy Communion, whom she called 
her life and the beloved of her heart, that 
she would, as she says, have braved a thou- 
sand dangers to attain it. Her expressions 
are all fire when speaking of the Blessed 
Sacrament. The holy ardor which con- 

1 Juritsch: Geschichte des Bishofs Otto. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 117 



sumed the soul produced on her such super- 
natural effects that she was sometimes 
seen, at the time of Communion, all sur- 
rounded with light and as if already crowned 
with the glory she was to receive in heaven. 

St. Catherine of Genoa, at the sight of 
the Host in the hands of the priest could 
scarcely contain her happiness. She envied 
the priest of God who had the great fortune 
to be so near the Blessed Sacrament, and, 
burning with desire, she was wont to say in 
her heart: " Hasten, Thou my God, quick, 
quick: let this heavenly Bread come without 
delay into the very depths of my soul; for it 
is all that I seek; it is my nourishment; my 
life." 1 

Reflection 

In the heart of Jesus there burned a love 
that would willingly sacrifice all for the be- 
loved object, and this we see Him doing in 
the Blessed Sacrament of the altar. Like the 
faithful shepherd, ever anxious to be near His 
sheep lest any harm should befall them, so 
Jesus, pre-eminently the "Good Shepherd," 
has ordained that through all ages He shall 

1 Huguet: The Blessed Sacrament. Peter Lechner; 
Her life. 



118 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



ever be close to His own. On that sorrowful 
night of the Last Supper there was still one 
desire of His heart unfulfilled, and so we see 
Him taking bread, and blessing, and break- 
ing and giving it to His disciples. When 
Christ said: "This is My Body/' He gave 
us not only His sacred living Body, but also 
His soul. With divinity and humanity He 
comes to us, thus raising the dignity of our 
poor fallen nature by its intimate union 
with the divine. 

Because of His burning love, then, He is 
present with us in all places until the end of 
time. While He dwelt visibly among men, 
the laws of place and time both held domin- 
ion over Him. As man He was present only 
in one place at one time, but now, subject 
to no natural law, He is in all places with 
His entire humanity and divinity, — and for 
all time, until earth shall be no more! 

To His Sacred Body in the Blessed Sac- 
rament our Lord has transferred two of 
His divine attributes, His divine omnipres- 
ence and His divine omnipotence. And He 
has done this because it is His delight to be 
always with the children of men. Aglow 
with His divine love He tells us: "I am 
come to cast fire on the earth and what will 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 119 



I but that it be kindled?" Thus would He 
provoke our love in return, for, "When God 
gives us great favors/' says St. Basil, "He 
demands nothing from us in return except 
our love." Behold, then, what Christ ex- 
acts from us when He gives us Himself in 
the Blessed Sacrament: He desires only 
that we love Him as He loves us — surely, a 
trifling recompense for so priceless a boon! 

With one accord, during this Holy Hour, 
let us beg this love of our dear Lord, for He 
only can bestow it upon us, and in petition- 
ing for it we can use no better words than 
the sublimely beautiful ones of a dear Cath- 
olic hymn: 

"Jesus, my Lord, my God, my All! 

How can I love Thee as I ought? 
And how revere this wondrous gift, 

So far surpassing hope or thought? 
Sweet Sacrament, we Thee adore, 

Oh! make us love Thee more and more." 



^tjtrtemtf) Keatung; and Inflection 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

LIKE SS. Aloysius and Stanislaus Kostka, 
Blessed John Berchmans has been given 
to Christian youth for an example and patron. 
He would rise very early in the morning and 
hurry to church, where he would generally 
hear two or three Masses before school; 
upon his return, if he found his parents' 
house closed, he would enter the nearest 
church and say his rosary. His great joy 
was to hear sermons, and his dearest occu- 
pation to serve Holy Mass, and great were 
the graces which he drew from the divine 
Sacrifice. Already he entertained the most 
childlike veneration for the Blessed Mother 
of God, and the most glowing love for Jesus 
in the Most Holy Sacrament. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 121 



He had just reached the age of eleven 
years when, on a certain high festival, it 
pleased God to awaken in him a great de- 
sire to make his first Communion; so he 
presented himself in all humility before the 
Superior of the Seminary, and begged for 
the grace to receive our Lord Jesus Christ in 
Holy Communion. For this he prepared 
himself so diligently that his Superior per- 
ceived plainly that not a natural, but rather 
a high degree of supernatural, fervor was at 
work in the soul of this favorite child of 
God. 

At fourteen years of age he put himself 
under the instruction of the Jesuits, and 
after three years' preparation entered the 
Society of Jesus. It was the custom of 
Blessed John to visit our Lord seven times a 
day in the Most Holy Sacrament of the 
Altar, and on quitting the presence of our 
Lord to beseech St. Aloysius and St. Stanis- 
laus to keep watch during his absence. It 
was with incredible care that he prepared 
himself to receive Holy Communion. But 
when one of his companions inquired why, 
on vacation days, however great the feast 
might be, he always abstained from the 
Holy Mysteries, he replied: " Because on 



122 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



days of recreation I cannot receive them with 
the recollection which is befitting so great a 
Majesty." 

Blessed John Berchmans had attained his 
twenty-second year when he was taken ill 
on the fifth of August, the feast of our Lady 
of Snows. By command of his superiors he 
went into the infirmary and took to his bed. 
On the Sunday after the feast he received 
Holy Communion, at his own express de- 
sire, by way of Viaticum. Before receiving 
it he begged the Father Rector to allow him 
to have his mattress laid upon the floor, in 
order that he might thus receive the Sacred 
Body of the Lord in company of as many of 
his companions as could be present. 

The following morning he prepared to re- 
ceive the Last Sacraments. After saying the 
confiteor, whilst Father Rector held the Host 
in his hand, he poured forth unexpectedly 
the following declaration: "I declare that 
there is here present the Very Son of God 
the Father Almighty and of the Blessed 
Virgin. I declare that I live and die as a 
true son of the Holy Catholic Apostolic 
Roman Church." These unexpected words, 
spoken with such deep devotion, moved all 
present to tears. With his eyes fixed upon 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 



123 



his crucifix, his rosary and his rule in his 
hand, and the most holy names of Jesus 
and Mary upon his lips, he yielded up his 
guileless soul into the hands of his Creator. 1 

Saint Peter of Alcantara was born in the 
city of Alcantara in Spain. As a boy he 
was always earnest and gentle, and the 
beauty of his soul reflected itself in his sweet 
countenance, so that even children called 
him the holy boy, although he never played 
with them. His great delight was to be in 
church. On one occasion he remained un- 
usually long away from home; midday had 
passed, and yet he did not appear. On 
sending a servant in search of him his 
parents learned that he was found in the 
choir of the church, kneeling behind the 
organ, his face glowing like that of an angel; 
and so deep in devotion that it was with 
difficulty the messenger aroused him. 

The holy and austere life of this beloved 
servant of God was in keeping with its be- 
ginning. His humility was such that the 
priesthood was forced upon him, and he ac- 
cepted it only as an obedience after a long 
protest. But from the moment that he cele- 
brated his first Mass, his union with God in 
1 Goldie: the Life of Blessed J. Berchmans. 



124 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



daily Communion and the contemplation of 
the bitter sufferings of our Savior took such 
possession of him that he was almost con- 
stantly in the state of ecstasy. 

Being himself at all times absorbed in the 
mystery of the cross, he desired that every- 
one should equally value the divine mystery. 
For this purpose he erected crosses in all the 
roads, lanes, and heights. He himself would 
assist in carrying these crosses up the moun- 
tain side, and after planting one, he would 
address in fervent language the kneeling mul- 
titude. "Fly from sin/' he would exclaim, 
"for sin hath crucified the Lord Jesus Christ !" 

But the Holy Eucharist was still more the 
object of his love and devotion, as it was the 
occasion of his most frequent ecstasies. The 
saint lost all consciousness of surrounding 
things, for his heart was one with the Be- 
loved. He used to choose a dwelling close to 
the Adorable Sacrament and would cause a 
little opening to be made in his cell through 
which he could see the high altar. St. Peter 
of Alcantara died on the 18th of October, 1562. 1 

In the year 1720, Provence, near the city 
of Marseilles, France, was visited by an 

1 Ott: Eucharisticum. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 125 



appalling pestilence which in the course of a 
few months carried off one half of the in- 
habitants. When all human means failed, 
the Bishop of Marseilles resolved to take 
refuge in our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament 
to appease the anger of God the Father by 
the merits of the Most Sacred Heart of His 
divine Son. He exhorted the faithful of 
his diocese to unite in the spirit with which 
he himself was animated, and on the feast 
of Corpus Christi, after a long procession, in 
which he had carried the Most Holy Sacra- 
ment in his hands, and with bare feet he 
dedicated himself and his whole diocese to 
the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

The prayers were heard. From that very 
day the evil began to diminish, and in a 
short time it disappeared. This fact was 
recorded by the magistrates of the city. 
But God had in reserve a still more striking 
mark of protection in reward for the zeal 
of the Bishop and his pious flock. In the 
month of May of the year 1722 the pestilence 
broke out afresh in the city, throwing all the 
inhabitants into the most frightful con- 
sternation. Death reaped a fearful harvest. 

"All around me are laid low/' writes the 
good Bishop ; " and of all the servants of God 



126 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



who have accompanied me, none remains 
to me but my almoner. During the last 
eight days I have seen two hundred dead 
bodies in a state of decomposition round my 
house and under my windows. Every place 
is so full of filth that it is nearly impossible 
to know where to tread. " Once more the 
prelate took refuge in the Sacred Heart of 
Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. He col- 
lected the magistrates of the city and made 
a vow that every year on the Feast of the 
Sacred Heart they would go m % solemn pro- 
cession to the church of The Mother of 
God, to receive Holy Communion with 
suitable offerings; and this procession was 
vowed to take place annually. This vow 
was publicly proclaimed before the high 
altar of the cathedral by the chief magistrate 
in presence of the Most Holy Sacrament. 
The vow was heard. From that day the 
sick began to recover. 1 

St. John Chrysostom says: "When you 
see the body of Jesus Christ on our altars, 
say to yourself: 'By means of this Body I 
am no longer dust and ashes; I am no 
longer a slave; I am free/ The sun could 

1 Rossignoli: Les Merveilles dans la Saint Euch., 1865, 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 



127 



not behold this Body fastened to the cross 
without turning away its rays; the veil of 
the temple as well as the rocks were rent 
with grief, and the whole earth trembled. 
Do you wish to learn from other facts how 
far His power and His might extend? Ask 
the woman who was healed by touching, 
not His Body, but His garment; not even 
the whole garment, but simply the hem. 
Ask the sea which bore Him upon its waves. 
Ask Satan who gave Him a mortal wound? 
who stripped Him of His strength? who 
made Him a slave? He will answer you 
that it is this Body that crushed his head, 
and triumphed over his power. Ask death: 
who took from it its sting? who rendered it 
so contemptible to children, while it is so 
terrible to kings, and even to the just? 
Death will tell you that it is this Body that 
worked all these wonders. Then let us come 
from the Holy Table like lions, full of 
strength. " 1 

Reflection 

Only a love that was capable of overcoming 
all obstacles could give us this Most Holy 
Sacrament under the lowly form of bread. 

1 Tom. 1. Ill, de Sacerd. N. 4, 5, Naegle. 



128 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



Thus did our Lord find a means whereby 
He might remain with us everywhere and 
at all times. Nothing seeming too much 
for His love, — He hides Himself under a 
form destitute of life, regardless of the 
injuries and insults heaped upon Him by 
reason of His very condescension and aban- 
donment to our will. 

How little do we consider the sufferings 
of the soul, the moral diseases we inflict 
upon it by our irregular lives, compared 
with the plwsical pains we sometimes endure. 
The souls of the martyrs tasted heavenly 
peace and joy, whilst their poor bodies were 
torn by wild beasts or cut to pieces in ex- 
cruciating torture. The agony our Lord 
endured for our sins was far more bitter 
than all this, because He bore it while His 
soul was plunged into a sea of sorrow. 

And yet, foreseeing all the indifferences of 
men, all their irreverences, all their unbelief, 
— His love for us was so great that He chose 
the Sacrament of the altar just to be with 
us. Despite the fact that He knows but 
too well that He will always be so little 
loved and so much wounded, He still remains. 
Oh! at least let us who try to be grateful to 
the hidden God by gathering here during the 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 129 



Holy Hour, where we may praise and exalt 
the infinite love of Jesus in this Sacrament ! 
With tears of gratitude let us weep over the 
injuries we have inflicted on His most Sacred 
Heart; and let us purpose by this act of ado- 
ration to make reparation for all the offenses 
and insults which have ever been or ever will 
be committed against Jesus in the Blessed 
Sacrament till the end of time. Thus shall 
we begin and end our Holy Hour with a 
living faith and with sincere devotion adore 
our Eucharistic King. 

" O Jesus, my Priest and my Victim, lend 
me Thy Heart to chant to my Sovereign 
Benefactor a hymn of the sweetest and the 
most heartfelt gratitude. Do Thou Thyself 
touch the strings of this divine lyre, and 
express to my great Benefactor fitting 
thanks for each of the benefits conferred on 
me and all mankind by the gift of Thy good 
and magnanimous Heart! " 

" O Mary, our Lady of the Blessed Sacra- 
ment and my well-beloved Mother, thank 
the Heart of thy Son, my Priest and my 
Victim, for having loved me so far as to die 
for my redemption. Thank Him for having 
loved me so much as to remain here below 
under the lowly appearance of Bread in order 



130 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



to give Himself to me in Communion and 
to apply to me Himself the merits of the 
sacrifice of His life. Teach me, dearest 
Mother, to fix on the heart of my Priest and 
my Victim, through the shadows of the 
Eucharistic Mystery, all the thoughts of 
my mind, all the affections of my heart." 



jfourtemtl) l&ea&mff and Inflection 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

MARIE BERNARD BAUER, a Jewish 
convert, was the son of one of the 
wealthiest Jewish families in Vienna. His 
conversion to the Catholic faith dates way 
back to the year 1865. At an early age 
the young Jew, fiery and enthusiastic, and 
gifted already with singular eloquence, threw 
himself into the ranks of the Revolution, and 
became one of its most ardent emissaries. 
At eighteen he was intrusted with important 
missions, and considered a rising Freemason. 
But during his travels he became acquainted 
with a young Frenchman, a zealous Catho- 
lic, whose influence and friendship laid the 
foundations of his conversion. He visited his 
friends and his mother also, who by her ex- 
ample more even than by her exhortations 



132 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



contributed to the work of grace begun in 
his soul by her son's solicitations. Bauer 
wore, by the request of these two, a medal of 
the Immaculate Conception. After being 
fully instructed in the faith, he required 
nothing but grace to believe. While at 
Lyons with several worldly acquaintances, he 
happened to be standing on a balcony, on 
the Feast of Corpus Christi; the procession 
of the Blessed Sacrament was to pass below, 
and they, with cigars in their mouths, and 
mockery in their hearts, were watching for 
the pageant. No change came over the 
young Jew until the canopy under which 
the priest carried the Divine Host was 
close beneath the balcony. The change at 
that moment was lightning-like. Faith 
entered his heart, or rather — as he himself 
afterwards declared — a conviction of the 
Real Presence of our Lord in the Blessed 
Sacrament so absolute that it made itself felt 
throughout his whole being. 

It was by means of this light of faith that 
he saw our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament 
more distinctly than if our Lord had ap- 
peared to him in some sensible manner. 
The same knowledge, so to speak, returned 
to him many times since while consecrating 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 133 



at Mass, and he said he could not believe 
merely, in a matter of which he was so 
blissfully and unerringly certain. As Jesus 
passed, Bauer threw himself on his knees and 
professed himself a Christian. 

It was in consequence of this most inti- 
mate conviction that he concluded one of 
his discourses in Paris, as follows: "And 
Thou, Lord Jesus Who art the Truth 'that 
enlighteneth every man that cometh into 
the world/ let it not come to pass that one 
soul out of this great assemblage should re- 
turn this day from the foot of this pulpit to 
the common turmoil of the world without 
bearing within itself the ineffable wound of 
a dawning conviction. And if, Lord! 
Thou requirest unto this end the sacrifice of 
a human life, let this day be my last on 
earth, and this hour the last of my mortal 
pilgrimage/ ' 1 

It is related in the life of St. John a Fa- 
cundo, O.S.A., that he was usually long in 
saying Mass, so that no one liked to serve 
it. The Father Prior told him that he 
should try not to be longer in saying Mass 
than the other Fathers of the convent. The 

1 Catholic World, May, 1873. 



134 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



holy priest tried to obey, but finding obedi- 
ence in this point so extremely difficult, he 
begged the prior to permit him to say Mass 
in the same manner as before. After hearing 
his reasons, the prior most willingly granted 
this permission. With Father John's leave, 
he told these reasons to the Fathers of the 
convent. " Believe me/' said the prior to 
them, " Father John's Mass lasts so long be- 
cause God bestows on him the grace of 
seeing the mysteries of the holy sacrifice, 
which are so sublime that no human mind 
can understand them. Of these mysteries 
he told me things so wonderful that I was 
overwhelmed with holy awe and almost be- 
side myself. Believe me, Jesus Christ shows 
Himself to this Father in a most wonderful 
manner, converses with him most sweetly, 
and sends forth upon him from His sacred 
wounds a heavenly light and splendor so re- 
freshing for both body and soul that he 
might live without any nourishment. Father 
John sees also the Body of Christ in its 
heavenly glory and beauty shining like a 
most brilliant sun. Now, considering how 
great and unspeakably sublime the graces 
and favors are which men derive from say- 
ing Mass, or from hearing it, I have firmly re- 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 135 



solved never to omit saying or hearing Mass, 
and I will exhort others to do the same." 1 

A young man of Cologne, the son of a 
convert to Christianity, having approached 
the Holy Table during the Paschal time of 
1153, carried off the Host with the intention 
of using it for sacrilegious purposes. Scarcely 
had he left the church when terror took 
possession of him. Not knowing what to 
do with the Sacred Species, he entered a 
cemetery and buried the Host in the ground. 
A priest was passing by the place at the 
moment. Informed by the unhappy young 
man of the sacrilege he had just committed, 
he removed the earth that covered the Holy 
Eucharist, and found the Sacred Host 
changed into a beautiful Child. He took 
it up reverently to carry it to the church, 
when suddenly a dazzling light surrounded 
the miraculous Child, who escaped from the 
hands of the priest and ascended toward 
heaven. 2 

In the year 1153, St. Bernard, by order of 
his superiors, was sent to Guienne, where 
William of Aquitaine, the powerful and 

1 Henschen, in Act. Sanct., ad xii. diem Junii. 

2 Jean de Gheest : Les Lettres, Louvain 1380. 



136 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



haughty duke of that province, violently 
persecuted those who adhered to the true 
Pope, and had on that account expelled the 
bishops of Poitiers and Limoges. This Wil- 
liam was a prince of high birth, immense 
wealth, gigantic stature and extraordinary 
ability, but full of the worldly spirit. St. 
Bernard took occasion to visit him and 
endeavored to reclaim him from his scanda- 
lous disorders. The Duke listened to him 
for several days, and appeared to be much 
affected by his discourses on the last things 
and the fear of God. Nevertheless he was 
not yet converted. St. Bernard, who had 
learned never to despair of the most obstinate 
sinners, finding he could not prevail upon 
him to restore the two bishops, at length 
had recourse to more powerful arms. He 
went to say Mass, the duke and other 
schismatics staying outside the door, as being 
excommunicated persons. After the Conse- 
cration, the holy Abbot put the Host upon the 
paten, and carrying it out, with his eyes 
sparkling with zeal, charity and devotion, 
and his countenance all on fire, spoke to the 
duke, no longer as a suppliant, but with a 
voice of authority: " Hitherto we have 
entreated you and prayed you, and you have 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 137 



always slighted us. Now, therefore, the Son 
of the Virgin, the Lord and Head of the 
Church you persecute, comes in person to see 
if you will repent. He is your Judge, at whose 
name every, knee bends, both in heaven, 
earth and hell. He is the just revenger 
of your crimes, into whose hands this, your 
obstinate soul, will one day fall. Will you 
despise Him? Will you slight Him as you 
have slighted His servants? Will you?" The 
duke not being able to bear any longer, fell 
down in a swoon. The Saint lifted him up, 
and bade him salute the Bishop of Poiters, 
who was present. The astonished prince was 
not able to speak, but went to the Bishop 
and led him by the hand to his seat in the 
Church, expressing by that action that he re- 
nounced the schism and restored the Bishop to 
his see. After this the Saint returned to the 
altar and finished the Holy Sacrifice. After 
a time the duke renounced the world and en- 
tering upon a penitential life, lived austerely 
until God called him to eternal bliss. 1 

In the process of the canonization of St. 
Francis Borgia, A.D. 1572, it was proved, as 
a continual miracle, that he never entered any 

1 Butler's "Lives," Aug. 20th. 



138 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



church without having an interior conscious- 
ness of the place where the Blessed Sacrament 
was reserved. Whenever he could, he visited 
the Blessed Sacrament in the churches. 

His continual and protracted illness and 
infirmities were a source of consolation rather 
than affliction to this holy man of God; 
Father Louis von Guzman, tells us that it 
was once his happiness to render some as- 
sistance to the Saint during a very severe ill- 
ness. His sickness had this peculiarity — that 
he continually fell into a lethargy. Each 
morning there were two hours in which he 
was awake and cheerful. Of these he em- 
ployed one in preparation for Holy Com- 
munion, and the other in thanksgiving, after 
which he sank again into his deathly lethargy, 
which lasted the wliole day. 

When still a layman, the Saint usually 
spent three days in preparation before Holy 
Communion, which may be the more readily 
understood, when we learn that such were 
the raptures which took place in his soul when 
he offered up the Sacred Mysteries, that the 
hour for vespers would frequently find him 
wdth the Holy Sacrifice still unfinished, on 
which account he seldom said Mass in public. 1 

1 Ott. Eucharisticum. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 139 



At Fecamp, in Normandy, a priest of 
great sanctity solemnly sang the Mass of 
the day on which was celebrated the Dedi- 
cation of the Church of the Holy Trinity. 
At the moment of Holy Communion, the 
Host in the hands of the priest suddenly 
changed into a beautiful child. He made 
a sign to the deacon to call the Bishops 
present at the solemnity. By their order 
he transported the miraculous Host to a 
tabernacle, there to preserve it. This hap- 
pened in the year 1182. Rev. Father 
Michael Mueller makes mention of this 
miracle in his work "The Blessed Eu- 
charist." 1 

Reflection 

Father Faber in one of his works says: 
"The ways of visiting the Blessed Sacrament 
must ,be as various as the souls of men. 
Some love to go there to listen; some to 
speak; some to confess to Him as if He were 
their priest; some to examine their con- 
sciences, as before their judge; some to do 
homage to their king; some to study Him 
as their doctor and prophet; some to find 
their shelter as with their Creator. Some 

1 Chronicles of Vezelay and Tours, 1186. Die Hlg. 
Euchuristia. Huguet. 



140 READINGS AXD REFLECTIONS 



rejoice in His divinity, others in His sacred 
humanity, others in the mysteries of the 
season. Some visit Him on different days 
according to His different titles, — as God, 
Father, brother, shepherd, head of the 
Church, and the like. Some visit to adore, 
some to intercede, some to petition, some to 
return thanks, some to get consolation; 
but all visit Him to love, and to all who 
visit Him in love He is a power of heavenly 
grace, and a fountain of many goods, no 
single one of which the whole created uni- 
verse could either merit or confer.' ' 

Can we ever give fitting worship to the 
Son of God present on our altars? Here 
He is in all His infinite majesty, dwelling 
beneath a lowly form. His sacred Body, 
His precious Blood, His blessed soul, His 
adorable divinity are actually and truly 
present here before our eyes. 

And all this had been done for our sake. 
So great is His love for us and His longing 
to be with us, that His unquenchable desire 
had induced Him to renounce all and conceal 
His divinity beneath these humble veils. 
His love was only satisfied when He put it 
in the power of each one of us "To taste and 
see that the Lord is sweet/' to feel Him in our 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 141 



very soul, to become one flesh and blood with 
God Himself! Could Jesus have given us a 
greater proof of His love than this? No, 
we say it with all reverence, — in His infinite 
power even He could not discover anything 
more wonderful, more magnificent. It is 
God's miracle of miracles! 

"I will sing praises to Thee in the sight 
of the angels; I will worship towards Thy 
Holy Temple, before the altar on which 
Thou deignest to dwell for love of me; I 
will give glory to Thy name, for the mercy 
Thou dost exercise towards us in deigning 
to dwell among the children of men, and 
for Thy Truth." 



jftttentti) Ifteatung and Eeflectton 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

GAESARIUS of Heisterbach, a pious and 
learned monk of the Cistercian monas- 
tery Heisterbach relates the following legend : 
A pious priest named Andrew, together with 
many other devout Christians, made a pil- 
grimage to the Holy Land. The vessel in 
which they were to return was to set sail on 
Easter Sunday morning. So all embarked 
on that day except the holy priest and sailed 
off. This good priest preferred to let his 
fellow-pilgrims start than to omit saying 
Mass. He went to the wharf to obtain, if 
possible, a small fast-sailing bark to over- 
take the other pilgrims. Wonderful to re- 
late, a beautiful youth suddenly appeared 
before him on horseback, and said: "You 
preferred not to start with the other pil- 
grims rather than lose Mass; get then on 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 143 



my horse with me and I will conduct you 
safely back to your own country." Andrew 
accepted the offer and soon fell asleep a 
little while. When he awoke, the young 
man, who was an angel of the Lord, said 
to him: "Do you know where you are?" 
"Kind sir," replied the priest quite amazed, 
"I can hardly trust my eyes; it seems to me 
I am in my fatherland; this is the street in 
which I live; this is my house; these are 
the houses of my friends and neighbors; but 
how is it possible that I could come home by 
land in so short a time?" "Nevertheless it 
is so," said the angel; "your way has been 
shortened because you said Mass." Thus 
the good priest was taken home in a few 
minutes, whilst his companions remained ex- 
posed to all the storms and dangers of a sea 
voyage for two months. It was thus that 
the Lord honored the holy priest, because 
he had been infinitely honored by him in 
the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. 1 

The circumstances attending the death of 
St. Ephrem were very edifying. His con- 
fidence in the precious fruits of the Holy 

1 Dialogus Magnus. 



144 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



Eucharist raised his hopes and inflamed his 
love, especially in his passage to eternity. 
In his "Necrosima" he thus expressed him- 
self: " Entering upon so long and dangerous 
a journey, I have my Viaticum, even Thee, 
Son of God! In my extreme spiritual 
hunger, I will feed upon Thee, O Repairer 
of Mankind. So it shall be that no fire will 
dare to approach me; for it will not be able 
to bear the sweet saving odor of Thy Body 
and Blood." 

The Saint having ceased to speak, continued 
in silent prayer till he calmly gave up his soul 
to God. He died at a very advanced age. 
His festival was kept at Edessa immediately 
after his death. On this occasion, St. Greg- 
ory of Nyssa, delivered his panegyric, which 
he concluded with this address to the Saint: 
"You are now assisting at the Divine Altar, 
and, before the Prince of Life, praising the 
Most Holy Trinity. Remember us all, and 
obtain for us the pardon of our sins." 

God rewarded the zeal of His servant St. 
Hugh by a miracle. 

At the close of the twelfth century, the 
holy Bishop was one day in the manor of 
his domains, called Bukkdan. He was sur- 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 145 



rounded by his priests who came to offer 
him their respects, but whose wealth and 
haughty spirit had more than once excited 
the indignation of the holy prelate. When 
about to begin the celebration of Holy 
Mass, the Bishop was detained by a delega- 
tion of Religious of a neighboring monastery 
who presented some rich vestments and a 
chalice of great value to be blessed. St. 
Hugh thought this a favorable opportunity 
to rebuke the priests who were with him. 
After consecrating the chalice, he went 
among the clergy and presented it for 
inspection so that they might admire the 
material, the shape, and the exquisite work- 
manship. In the eyes of the holy prelate 
nothing was more worthy of eulogy than 
the solicitude of the men, consecrated to the 
service of God, who believe that enough can 
never be done to decorate the altar and treat 
the divine Mysteries with honor. No words 
were too severe too stigmatize ecclesiastics 
who, notwithstanding their large revenues, 
left the House of God in a careless and 
dilapidated condition. 

The Bishop, after convincing himself that 
he had taught his clergy a very salutary 
j lesson, ascended the altar. God was pleased 



146 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



to recompense the zeal of the saintly prel- 
ate by working a miracle during the con- 
secration of the Mass. The mystic words 
which change the bread into the body of 
Christ had been pronounced when all 
present perceived that the saint held in his 
hands the Savior Himself under a human 
form. Christ appeared as a very small 
child, who, with arms raised to heaven, 
offered Himself to His heavenly Father for 
the salvation of the world. From His 
divine Person there shot forth rays of light 
of surpassing beauty. Continuing the Sacri- 
fice, the Bishop again elevated the Host in 
order to break It, and the same prodigy was 
renewed. At the moment of Holy Com- 
munion, Jesus appeared for the third time 
in the hands of the Bishop. 

In remembrance of this miracle St. Hugh 
is generally represented as holding a chalice, 
above which stands a little child encircled 
by luminous rays. 1 

As St. Paschal was watching his sheep 
on the mountainside one day, he heard the 
consecration bell ring out from the church 
in the valley below, where the villagers were 

1 His life by Robert du Mont. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 147 



assembled at Mass. The saint had hardly 
fallen upon his knees, when there stood before 
him an angel of God, bearing in his hands a 
Sacred Host, and offering it for his adoration. 

Learn from this how pleasing to Jesus 
Christ are those who honor Him in this 
great mystery of His love, and how the 
following promise is especially fulfilled with 
regard to them: "I will not leave you 
orphans, I will come unto you." 

St. Paschal Baylon, whom Pope Leo XIII 
proclaimed in 1897 the Patron of the Eucha- 
ristic Congress, was a simple lay brother of 
the Franciscan Order, distinguished by an 
extraordinary devotion to the sacred mystery 
of the altar. While still in the world, he 
never suffered a day to pass without visiting, 
when possible, Jesus in the tabernacle, and 
later, as a religious, he was accustomed to 
spend hours at the foot of the altar, where 
he was often raised from the ground by the 
fervor of his prayer. 1 

In the lives of holy priests we read how 
they were often visited with extraordinary 
favors during the oblation of the sacred 
mysteries. 

^tt: Eucharistium, page 376. Bolland, Tom. IV. 



148 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



St. Herbert, the great and famous arch- 
bishop of Cologne, was touched with such 
devotion while saying Mass, that his face, 
which habitually bore marks of the virtues 
with which his holy soul was adorned, then 
became so luminous and resplendent that 
he seemed an angel rather than a man. 

What were the transports of St. Lawrence 
Justinian? His body became, as it were, 
immovable, and had only sufficient motion 
to serve his soul, which was totally taken up 
with his sublime action; his face shone with 
angelic modesty, his eyes distilled tears, 
and his mind was transported by the force 
of ravishments. 

John of Alvernia, while one day saying 
Mass, was so wrapped in a divine and 
ineffable sense of God that he was hardly 
able to proceed. After he had pronounced 
the words of consecration, he became, as it 
were, unconscious of himself, being wholly 
lost in the divinity of the mysteries which 
he was performing. 

The Abbot Euthymius used to tell in 
private conversation that often while saying 
Mass he saw troops of angels standing 
round him. 

Severus relates that while St. Martin was 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 149 



saying Mass, a fiery globe used to appear 
above his head. St. Euthenius used to see 
a great fire and light coming down from 
heaven, and enveloping him and his assistant 
to the end of the Holy Sacrifice. In the 
same manner the Holy Ghost came upon 
St. Anastatius, and surrounded him in the 
form of a fiery flame while celebrating the 
Sacred Mysteries. 

Reflection 

How long has not this memorial of love — 
the Sacrament of the altar — been among 
men? Only once did Jesus change water 
into wine; only once did He enter the house 
of Zaccheus; only once did He appear on 
Mount Thabor, His countenance shining as 
the sun and His garments whiter than snow; 
but for upwards of eighteen hundred years, 
bread has not ceased to be changed into 
His Body, and wine into His Blood. The 
mighty words, "Do this in commemoration 
of Me/' are still re-echoing throughout the 
Church and will be re-echoing till the con- 
summation of the world. Wherever there 
is a priest the heavenly work goes on, and 
will go on without cessation throughout the 
ages. 



150 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



Mary, our blessed Mother, was the first 
adorer of Jesus Christ. Therefore those 
who wish to know the intimate secrets of 
divine Love, and the hidden power of 
divinity hidden under humble veils, will 
best obtain this knowledge through the 
Immaculate Heart of Mary. Let us always 
unite ourselves with her. She was with 
her divine Son during the most important 
incidents of His life, and she suffered with 
Him during His Passion; surely, then, she 
ought indeed to be the model of all adorers 
of the Blessed Sacrament. 

" Mary, for the glory of your divine Son 
in the Sacrament of His love, we beg of you 
above all to make Him known and loved. 
Raise up to Him Apostles of fire, and through- 
out the whole world multitudes of adorers, 
that Jesus therein guiding and nourishing 
our souls, we may live with you in everlasting 
glory." 



fefetemtf) Ifteatung anti l&ettection 

MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

ST. BEDE in his Ecclesiastical History, 
relates the following fact which he 
received from the very lips of the one to 
whom it occurred. 

King Egfried and King Ethelbert were at 
one time at war with each other, when it 
happened that a young man belonging to 
the former was left as dead on the battlefield. 
For a night and a day he remained there 
totally unconscious, till at last glimmerings 
of intelligence returned to him. Bracing 
himself, he bound up his wounds as best he 
could and proceeded to leave the scene of 
the engagement, when he was unfortunately 
discovered by the enemy and taken before 
King Ethelbert. 

To save his life he misrepresented his 
identity and answered the monarch's query 



152 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



with the words: "I am a poor peasant and 
have a large family. I came to bring 
provisions to the soldiers." Whereupon the 
king ordered his wounds to be dressed, but 
as soon as he had sufficiently recovered, the 
sovereign took care to have him shackled in 
order to prevent his escape. As soon as he 
was bound, however, the shackles loosened 
as if by a mysterious power. 

Now it happened that the young man had 
a brother who was a priest, and abbot of 
the monastery of Tunacester. At the conclu- 
sion of the battle the clergyman inquiring 
of his brother's fate was told that he was 
slain. After a prolonged search, finding a 
body which he supposed to be his brother's, 
he had it conveyed to the monastery, w^here 
it was given Christian burial. For many 
days the holy man offered up the Holy 
Sacrifice for the repose of his brother's soul, 
and it was afterwards learned that it was at 
the very hour when Mass was celebrated that 
the shackles fell from the prisoner's limbs. 

The king, hearing of the mysterious action 
of the shackles, asked the young man if 
he had recourse to incantations and spells. 
"0 king," he replied, "I know nothing of 
these evil things. Only this I know, that I 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 153 



have a brother a priest, and he, thinking that 
I was among the slain, had no doubt been 
offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for 
me. Were my soul in the other world, I 
know that during this Sacrifice it would be 
free from pain. Why then should it not 
have the power to loosen my fetters, im- 
prisoned as I am?" The young man could 
no longer feign disguise, for his countenance, 
demeanor, and conversation betrayed that 
he was not a mere peasant. Thereupon, 
when the king promised that no harm would 
befall him if he would declare his identity, 
he revealed that he was a servant of King 
Egfried. Untrue to his word, Ethelbert 
immediately ordered him to be sold. A 
merchant of Friesland bought him, and again 
the galling fetters encircled his limbs, but 
some supernatural power rendered them 
useless as before. Stronger shackles replaced 
the others with the same result. All efforts 
to keep the young man in chains proving 
ineffectual, the purchaser at last gave him 
permission to procure his ransom. This he 
had but little difficulty in doing. 

On arriving in his own country, he at 
once sought his brother and told him all 
that had happened. From the lips of the 



154 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



priest he learned that Mass had been cele- 
brated for him at nine o'clock every morning 
the very hour that the shackles had loosened 
and dropped from his limbs. Many other 
blessings had been showered upon him by 
reason of his brother's supplication. The* 
people on hearing of these wonders became 
more fervent than ever in prayer, generously 
giving alms and having Masses said for 
their departed, being now fully convinced 
that the Holy Sacrifice procures the redemp- 
tion of both soul and body. 1 

In the life of Cure d'Ars, in his instructions 
for First Holy Communion we read the fol- 
lowing: U A certain holy priest was praying 
for his friend who had departed this life. 
God had, it appears, made known to the 
priest that he was in purgatory; and accord- 
ingly he offered the Holy Sacrifice of the 
Mass for his soul. When he came to the 
moment of consecration, he took the Sacred 
Host into his hand, and said: '0 Holy and 
Eternal Father, Thou hast the soul of my 
friend, who is in purgatory, and I have the 
Body of Thy Son, who is in my hand. Do 

1 Ecclesiastical History by Ven. Bede, Book IV, c. 
XXII, page 753. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 155 



Thou deliver my friend, and I will offer 
Thee Thy Son with all the merits of His 
death and Passion.' In fact, at the moment 
of the elevation, he saw the soul of his friend 
rising to heaven, all radiant with glory. " 1 

Philip Augustus, a young man of princely 
extraction, knew how in the midst of the 
pleasures of the court to unite admirable 
piety and purity of life with the most brilliant 
courage. Some time after his coronation, 
in 1180, he assisted at Holy Mass at St. 
Leger, a very favored chateau of his realm. 
On this spot God wished to bestow upon him 
a mark of His predilection. At the elevation 
of the Sacred Host, the young monarch 
perceived in the hands of the celebrant a 
little child of striking beauty, encircled with 
light, around whom groups of angels were 
crowding in adoration before their mighty 
King. The Prince burst into tears at this 
spectacle, and prostrated with his face to 
the ground to return thanks to God, Who 
knows when it pleases Him how to reveal 
His secrets to those who live in accord with 
His divine Will. 2 

1 His life by A. Monnin Neus, Schwann. 

2 Examples by Dr. Herbest, Chap. 2, page 294. 



156 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



About the year 1837, on the Feast of 
Corpus Christi, several of the citizens of 
Duren, near Aix-la-Chapelle, were sitting 
together in an inn fronting on the great 
market-place, when the solemn procession 
of the Blessed Sacrament passed by. Among 
those present was the son of the burgo- 
master. Now as the priest gave benediction 
with the Blessed Sacrament at the altar 
that had been erected in the square, this 
young man held up a silver dollar in his 
hand and mocked the sacred ceremony. 
In a few days the very arm with which he 
had committed this crime began to mortify. 
After a short time, the unhappy man died. 1 

Reflection 

"0 beautiful sight/' says St. Liguori, "to 
see Jesus on that day when, tired and worn 
out, He sat down by the fountain, waiting 
for the sinful woman of Samaria to convert 
and save her. Does it not seem to be the 
same on our altars which are so many foun- 
tains of grace? Does He not there wait for 
souls? Does He not invite them to come 
to Him that He may draw them to His 
perfect love? my Savior, who workest 

1 Tabernakelwacht, 1903, 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 157 



here so many miracles, grant this one also, 
I beseech Thee, of drawing me wholly to 
Thyself." 

Jesus loves us: Let us then say to Him 
with the pious Eustelle: "O Jesus, love of 
my soul, my heart would wish to possess You 
without end and without interruption. You 
are my life, my light, my joy, my peace and 
my all. heavenly friend, the glances You 
cast on me attract all the inclinations of my 
heart towards You." ° 

In His Eucharistic life, as in His natural 
life, Jesus Christ is employed in doing good. 
How admirable are the works He performs 
through the Holy Eucharist. Who could 
reckon the number of miracles He has 
wrought and still performs through life? 
How many blind see, how many lepers are 
cured, how many dead are raised to life 
through the virtue of His adorable flesh; 
that sweet Savior continues through the 
Holy Eucharist His merciful journey through 
the centuries, forgiving sins, casting out 
devils, and delivering us from our infirmities. 
To how many souls who are paralytic, has 
He not spoken from the interior of the taber- 
nacle, saying: " Arise and walk." To how 
many blind has He not restored sight? How 



158 READINGS AXD REFLECTIONS 



many dead has He not, by the efficacy of the 
Sacrifice of the Mass, sent back living to 
the Church which was mourning their loss? 

To every soul that calls on Him, He says: 
"Arise above thy miseries; I am here to 
enrich thee with many graces." How clearly 
He enlightens devout souls that have re- 
course to Him in their doubts. What con- 
solations He makes those enjoy who are 
wholly devoted to Him. How thoroughly 
He communicates to them the flames of 
love which consume His divine Heart. 

Surely we must admire Christ's bountiful 
goodness in giving us the Most Holy Sacra- 
ment of the altar in which He becomes our 
very food, for did He not say: "Take ye 
and eat, this is my Body." And this divine 
Food we may have as often as we wish to 
partake of it. 

St. Denis tells us that all good is diffusive 
of itself. Now as God is infinitely good, 
His goodness must be infinitely diffusive, 
and so He has really shown Himself through- 
out the centuries by remaining with us in 
the Sacrament of His Love. Must we not 
then exclaim, "0 infinite goodness of God, 
how unsearchable are Thy ways." 

Christ's goodness and love towards His 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 159 



creatures manifests itself most forcibly be- 
cause He instituted the Blessed Eucharist 
the very night upon which He was betrayed, 
— yea, at the very moment when the execu- 
tioners were preparing the nails and the cross 
for Him. Consumed with love for man, 
He transubstantiated the elements of bread 
and wine into His body and blood that 
men might partake of this heavenly food. 
Ah, truly, the love of Jesus can neither 
be fathomed nor understood. The Royal 
Prophet meditating on God's love for us 
exclaimed in wonderment: "Oh! how good 
is the God of Israel! " With how much 
more astonishment ought we not to cry out: 
"How surpassing good is the Lord our God 
reposing on our altars." 

"Would, my God," cries out Bossuet, 
"that I had the zeal of Thy angels and of 
all Thy blessed saints. But still it would 
not be sufficient were all creatures, animate 
and inanimate, changed into pure love, 
Thou wouldst not even then be loved as 
much as Thou deservest for Thy most 
amiable goodness." "Come and hear, all 
ye that fear the Lord, and I will tell you 
what things He hath done for my soul." 




&ebenteent& l&eatuno; anti Reflection 

MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

IN a monastery in Tyrol, about the year 
1310, under the abbacy of Ruprecht as 
the chronicles of the Order record, a priest 
gave way to doubts while about to consume 
the Precious Blood during Mass. While 
these misgivings were harassing his mind, 
God in His infinite goodness performed a 
miracle to vindicate the word of His divine 
Son. In his very hands the wine in the 
chalice, which of course had retained its 
usual color and taste at the consecration, 
began to change into red blood. Part of 
this blood was preserved by order of the 
Abbot, and to this day is venerated in the 
abbey church, together with the purificator 
with which the chalice was purified. 

After many spiritual favors had been 
granted to those who had visited the church, 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 161 



Bishop George of Brixen caused a com- 
mittee to investigate the miraculous event. 
Since that time the church has been extended 
and the altar has been removed, but a mar- 
ble slab marks the spot where the miracle 
occurred. 1 

Bolandus relates of St. Coleta that, one 
day, when she was hearing the Mass of her 
confessor, she suddenly exclaimed at the 
elevation: "My God! O Jesus! O ye angels 
and saints! ye men and sinners, behold 
the great marvels !" After the Mass her con- 
fessor asked her why she had wept so bit- 
terly and uttered such pitiable cries. "Had 
your Reverence/' said she, " heard and seen 
the things which I heard and saw, perhaps 
you would have wept and cried out more 
than I did." "What was it that you saw?" 
asked her confessor again. "Although that 
which I heard and saw," she replied, "is so 
sublime and so divine that no man can 
ever find words to express it in a becoming 
manner, yet I will endeavor to describe it to 
your Reverence as well as my feeble language 
will permit. When your Reverence raised 
the Sacred Host, I saw our Lord Jesus Christ 

1 Exemplare by Bierman, cap. 11, page 508. Scherer: 
Bibliothek, d. Prediger, page 501. 



162 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



as if hanging on the cross, shedding His 
Blood, and praying to His heavenly Father 
in most lamentable accents: 1 Behold, O 
my Father, in what condition I was once 
hanging on the cross and suffering for the 
redemption of mankind.' " 

Mrs. Hugh Fraser, in " Italian Days/' 
gives us the following account of a miracle 
in connection with the Blessed Sacrament: 
" After the accession of Pius IX his brother, 
Cardinal Ferretti, a most wise and saintly 
man, acted as his Prime Minister for a time 
before the Revolution. His memory was 
greatly venerated in Rieti, where he was 
Cardinal Bishop. While he was there a 
terrible crime was committed. One of the 
churches was broken into at night, the 
tabernacle violated, and the pyx containing 
the Blessed Sacrament stolen. On learning 
of this frightful sacrilege the Cardinal called 
all his clergy together next morning and 
the entire assembly, with bare feet and ropes 
around their necks, went in procession to 
the public square. The city's inhabitants 
gathered around them while the Cardinal, 
standing bareheaded and barefooted under 
the noonday sun, preached a sermon, taking 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 163 



for his text the cry of Mary Magdalen on 
Easter morning: 'They have taken away 
my Lord ; and I know not where they have 
laid Him/ When the sermon ended, the 
people were kneeling on the stones, sobbing 
like children. That night the door of the 
church was left open, and the pyx was re- 
stored, its sacred contents intact. " 

St. Aloysius, when not occupied at home, 
could always be found at the foot of the 
altar, while St. Francis Xavier and St. 
John Francis Regis often passed whole 
nights before the tabernacle, thus reposing 
on the heart of Jesus after the many toils 
performed on their laborious missions. 

Father Salesio, of the Society of Jesus, 
felt the greatest consolation in even speaking 
of the Blessed Sacrament, and he never 
could visit it often enough. When sum- 
moned to the gate, when returning to his 
room, or passing from one part of the house 
to another, he made use of all those oppor- 
tunities to repeat his visits to his beloved 
Lord, so that it was remarked that scarcely 
an hour of the day elapsed without his 
visiting Him. Thus, at length, he merited 
the grace of martyrdom at the hands of the 



164 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



heretics, while defending the Real Presence 
in the Blessed Sacrament. 

"The Manna with which the Jews were 
fed in the desert/ ' says St. Cyril of Alex- 
andria, "did not bring the Eternal Life, 
but only a momentary refreshment: it was 
not the true bread, which cometh down from 
heaven. The Body of Jesus Christ, however, 
nourishes us not in a bodily way but to eter- 
nal life as our divine Savior Himself has de- 
clared. The Jews drank the water which 
flowed from the rock. What advantage did 
they derive from it since they are dead? 
That water was not the true drink; the true 
drink is the Blood of Jesus Christ, by vir- 
tue of which the empire of death is uprooted 
from its foundation, for it is the Blood of 
Him Who, united to substantial life, has be- 
come our life. 

"0 most amiable sweet Savior," says St. 
Francis of Sales, "what other food can give 
eternal life, but Thy Body? A living bread 
was necessary to give life, a bread which 
had come down from heaven to give heavenly 
life, a bread which was Thyself to give 
immortal and eternal life. The manna, 
although a true figure of Thy Body, has not 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 165 



the power. holy and glorious life, it is in 
the communion of the Body and Blood of my 
divine Savior that I find the pledge of my 
happy eternity. " 

" Thrown into prisons/' says Massillon, 
" shackled like criminals, they whom the 
world despised, chaste virgins, fervent souls, 
sacred ministers, all partook of the Bread 
of Benediction in their dungeons. What 
joy in their chains; what composure in 
those dark and frightful places; what songs 
of thanksgiving in those gloomy quarters 
where the eye rested on nothing but the sad 
picture of death and instruments of the 
most cruel sufferings. How often did they 
not say to Jesus Christ, present with them 
in the Adorable Sacrament: 'Ah! we feel 
no misery, O Lord, because Thou art with 
us. Happy fetters which Thou deignest to 
uphold. Holy prisons which are conse- 
crated by Thy presence. Agreeable gloom 
where Thou dost fill our souls with light. 
Cherished death which is about to unite us 
with Thee, and to tear asunder the veils 
which conceal Thee from our eyes.'" 

"The Blood of Christ/' says St. Cyril, 
"falls upon our souls in Holy Communion 



166 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



like a light dew, which refreshes and reani- 
mates all that is drooping to earth. The 
soul no longer sees anything but heaven. 
Her virtue takes deep root, and grows like 
a cedar, which neither winds nor storm can 
break down. She resembles the olive tree 
in the fruitfulness of her good works, and the 
odor of her life pours itself out like that of 
the flower in spring. 

Reflection 

Christ's goodness and mercy to man 
manifests itself most remarkably in the 
Holy Eucharist by His remaining with us 
even to the end of time. He dwells con- 
tinually on the altar, not in one consecrated 
Host but in all; not for a short time but 
to the end of the world. How wonderful 
and incomprehensible, then, is not Christ's 
goodness to us, remaining ever with His 
poor creatures, not in one place, or in one 
Host only, but in all places and in all conse- 
crated Hosts throughout the world. We 
need not carry our household gods from one 
city to another as did the heathens of pagan 
Rome. No matter where we go, our only God 
is there in the tabernacle of the Catholic 
Church, ready to welcome us if we wish to come. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 167 



"As the eagles gather about the body," 
says St. Ambrose, "so the faithful should 
gather about the Blessed Sacrament." Here 
we can tender thanks to Christ for His 
bountiful goodness, here we can evoke acts 
of faith, humility, love, and other virtues. 

During the Holy Hour, let our hearts 
admire and our hearts adore God's supreme 
abasement in the Blessed Sacrament. Let 
us pour out our heartfelt prayer in some 
such words as these : 

"Eternal praise and glory be to Thee, 
O my God and Savior, sole source of every 
good. But of myself, what am I that I 
should even dare to offer You my praise? 
Alas, I am but dust and ashes, a mere 
nothing in Thy sight. How then can I 
presume to praise Thee, my Lord and my 
God?" 

"Mayest Thou be praised, Lord my 
God, by Thine incomprehensible power, by 
Thine infinite wisdom, by Thine ineffable 
bounty; may Thine unbounded clemency, 
Thine inexhaustible mercy, Thine eternal 
virtue and divinity, together with Thy 
boundless love which Thou bearest Thy 
creatures, praise Thee, my God, Who art 
the life of my soul." 



168 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



"Mary, my tender Mother, into thy ma- 
ternal hands I place these ardent desires of 
my heart that thou mayest present them 
thyself to His divine majesty. Hasten the 
blessed hour in which all humanity prostrate 
at the foot of the tabernacle and the osten- 
sorium, will with one voice raise this canticle 
of praise to thine own glory and to that of 
Thy Son: "I salute Thee, I adore Thee, 
most Holy Body, born of the Virgin Mary." 



(Ctg&teentS Ifteatuno; anti Reflection 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

THE great miracle of Bolsena, Italy, a.d. 
1264, at least vouched for as a legend, 
was one of the causes that prompted Pope 
Urban IV to institute the feast of Corpus 
Christi. 

It happened that a very pious German 
priest made a pilgrimage to Rome about this 
time in order that he might be enlightened 
and freed from his doubts concerning the 
Holy Eucharist at the very fountain-head 
of Christianity. His faith in the Real 
Presence had been badly shaken, for he had 
misgivings about the transubstantiation of 
the wine. As he could not explain the 
mystery, he frequently had recourse to God 
to dispel his doubts, but all his prayers 
seemed to him in vain. 



170 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



On his way to the Eternal City he stopped 
at Bolsena, Italy, and forthwith repaired to 
the church of St. Christina to celebrate Mass. 
Here God worked a miracle in behalf of his 
wavering soul to free him from affliction. 
At the words of consecration, when the mys- 
terious change of the substance took place, 
the Sacred Blood in the chalice suddenly 
became agitated and trickled over the rim 
of the corporal under the appearance of 
blood. Trembling with fear and emotion, 
his first impulse was to conceal the incident, 
but as he was folding the linen to put it 
away, he noticed, to his surprise, blood stains 
on the marble altar table. 

Now it was no longer possible for the priest 
to hide the miracle, and learning that Pope 
Urban IV was at that moment in the neigh- 
borhood of Orvieto, he hurried thither. 
Full of penitence, he related everything to 
his Holiness and was absolved. The Pope 
then commanded the blood-sprinkled corporal 
to be brought, and when convinced of the 
miracle had it carried with great solemnity to 
the cathedral. The marble stones upon 
which the blood had fallen were kept with 
great reverence in the church of St. Christina 
at Bolsena, where to this day they are ven- 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 171 



erated by the people. In the year 1290 
Pope Nicholas IV laid the foundation stone 
of a beautiful church in which the corporal 
is preserved to the present day. This church 
for grandeur and size bears comparison with 
any in the world. Raphael, the renowned 
artist, perpetuated the memory of the 
miracle by a mural painting in the Vatican. 1 

St. Peter Damien, one of the great Doctors 
of the Church, recounts several Eucharistic 
miracles in his writings. The following 
happened in Italy, in the city of Amalfi, 
about the year 1050. 

"In the presence of the Pope," says the 
holy Doctor, "the Bishop of Amalfi has 
declared to us under oath that one day, 
while celebrating Mass, his mind was troubled 
with a thought against Faith. It seemed 
impossible for him to believe the Real 
Presence of our divine Lord in the Eucharistic 
Species. He had entertained this doubt at 
the very time when he divided the Sacred 
Host. To his utter astonishment the Eucha- 

1 De Ser. Dei Beatif ., Benedict XIV, by Bonca. Istoria 
et org. festa del Corpus Domini, " Pelican," No. 11, 
1894. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. XI, page 332, and 
XII, page 644. 



172 READINGS AXD REFLECTIONS 



ristic Bread was replaced in his hands by the 
visible flesh of the hidden Lord and his 
fingers were stained with blood. He fell 
on his knees in adoration, filled with re- 
pentance and faith, and the Host resumed 
its ordinary form. Such is the Sacrament of 
Love, so terrible to those who dare touch 
it with unworthy hands." 1 

Saint Francis Caracciolo in childhood 
shunned all amusements and instead loved 
to visit the Blessed Sacrament. As he grew 
older, and after he had been made General 
of the Order of Clerks Regular, he passed 
most of the night before the Tabernacle. 
In the presence of his Divine Lord, his face 
usually emitted brilliant rays of light, and he 
often bathed the ground with tears when he 
prayed prostrate on his face before the 
hidden Lord. Francis was commonly called 
"The Preacher of Divine Love." 

Philip II, King of Spain, on one occasion 
showed his untiring devotion towards the 
Blessed Sacrament by accompanying a priest 
who was carrying the Holy Viaticum to a 
sick person at a great distance. As the 

1 Der Heilige Petrus Damien, by Kleinennanns. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 173 



king walked all the way, the priest asked his 
royal highness if he were not tired. ' 1 Tired V 9 
he replied; "my servants waiting on me 
day and night never complain of being tired. 
Shall I then plead fatigue when I am in the 
company of my Lord whom I can never 
sufficiently love and honor?" 

An American lady, an Anglican, entered 
the Cathedral of St. Paul, Pittsburgh, Pa., 
for the first time one Sunday. Let us hear 
her own account of the visit : 

"I knelt down mechanically, without 
much prayer, but perfectly quiet. That 
afternoon I returned and took a seat on the 
first bench facing the high altar, neither 
praying nor thinking much of anything, but 
peaceful and full of consolation, like a child 
resting on the bosom of its mother. I 
glanced carelessly at the faithful coming and 
going: young and old, men and women, boys 
and girls, the rich, the poor, — all repre- 
sented in that procession of humanity, all 
coming to lay their cares, their chagrins, their 
hopes, their desires, in a word, all that 
troubled them, before the Friend hidden be- 
hind the tabernacle door always ready to 
listen to them. 

"Soon a very positive and distinct thought 



174 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



entered my mind. In what other church 
would one behold such a gathering? If the 
Real Presence should disappear from these 
precincts, would this incomparable pro- 
cession continue? The shades of evening 
had fallen on the nave, the priests had 
quitted their confessionals, and the church 
was empty save for the presence of the 
Master who fills all things, — and then I 
lost consciousness of everything. Now I 
can say nothing more, explain nothing 
more, except that with the Blessed Mother, 
Mary, I caught myself saying: 1 Behold the 
handmaid of the Lord, may it be done unto 
me according to Thy word.'" 

Some time after, the son of the lady, a 
pronounced Ritualist, was also converted 
by the Blessed Sacrament. His mother 
wrote to a friend: "I am sure that you will 
be glad to know that my youngest son is 
at this moment a Catholic, and charmed 
at being one. Like myself, it was the silent 
power of the Prisoner of the Tabernacle 
that converted him. As for myself, I limited 
my zeal to praying every day for his conver- 
sion. On Christmas morning I asked him 
whether he would like to come with me to 
Solemn High Mass with one of his Catholic 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 175 



friends. He assented. In the afternoon 
he assisted at Vespers with the same young 
man. On his return he came to me and 
said: 'Ah well, mother, I have made up 
my mind.' 'Made up your mind to what?' 
I asked. 'To become a Catholic.' Oh, that 
miraculous surprise! It was much greater 
as he had often said to me: 'I will never 
become a Catholic.'" 1 

The Reverend Father Vermot, says : "There 
is no Christian incapable of feeling the pleas- 
ure that is produced by the knowledge of 
what is contained in the Holy Eucha- 
rist. All that is necessary is to desire your 
salvation, to sigh after heaven, and to 
remember that this Sacrament is the source 
of all spiritual riches and the most efficacious 
means to satisfy all holy desires. Make the 
trial by receiving Holy Communion often. 
It corrects our faults without bitterness, it 
heals our wounds without pain, it purifies 
our heart without violence, it sanctifies 
without alarm and almost without a struggle. 
It withdraws us from creatures and unites us 
to God without agony. Try it, receive the 
Blessed Eucharist, receive it often." 

1 Tabernacle and Purgatory. 



176 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



Reflection 

In the Holy Eucharist we see our Lord's 
wonderful wisdom displayed for in the 
Sacrament of the altar He has contrived 
that His Body may be in heaven and on 
earth at the same time. 

St. Augustine tells us that two loves were 
contending in Christ for the mastery when 
He was about to leave this world: one was 
persuading Him to ascend to heaven, the 
other to remain on earth. He saw that 
the Holy Ghost would not descend on the 
Church if He returned not to His Father, 
whereas He knew also how essential it was 
for Him to remain on earth to protect the 
Church against her enemies. His incom- 
parable love, however, devised a method by 
which He could leave us and remain with 
us. He would stay with us sacramentally 
in the form of food, though at the same 
time ascending to His heavenly Father. 
Therefore did St. Thomas write: "Christ's 
Body is truly in heaven and truly on earth." 
This is the belief and teaching of our Holy 
Mother the Church that our Lord's Body is 
in the Eucharist just as it really was on the 
cross and as it is now in heaven. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 



177 



How wonderful is the wisdom of Christ! 
He places His entire humanity and divinity 
in a small Host, even in the minutest particle 
of it, so that at one and the same time He 
is great and small, — great by reason of 
His infinite immensity, and small by reason 
of the space which He occupies. Though 
the saints of the Church have tried to 
explain this by similitudes, our minds are 
incapable of grasping its full significance. 
One holy writer remarks that just as the 
lofty figure of a tower or the vast orb of the 
sun can be seen by the eye, small as it is, — 
also the Body of Christ in its immensity is 
contained whole and entire in the smallest 
particle of the consecrated Host. 

During this Holy Hour let us say: I 
thank Thee, divine Savior, for having 
through love of me chosen to remain as if 
in a state of death in this new tomb of the 
tabernacle. I thank Thee for having ac- 
cepted, in spite of all Thy rights to glory, 
the solitude, the forgetfulness, the state of 
a being who no longer counts among the 
living. I thank Thee, my Savior, for all 
the holy thoughts that are formed before 
Thy new sepulcher: the adieus spoken to 
the world and its vanity, the heroic resolu- 



178 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



tions of living more truly for God in the 
secret of His Sacramental Presence. 

I thank Thee for all the benefits that I 
myself have drawn from it. 

Mary, my loving Mother, help me to 
thank your Son as He deserves, this God 
who loves me so much. Help me to act in 
such a way that my own tomb may one 
day, like that of thy divine Son, inclose a 
victim of divine love. 




j|2met«ntf) Ktatuno; anD Inflection 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

ON Easter Sunday evening, 1795, Father 
Ligournais, pastor of Beauvais, in Ven- 
dee, was visited by a lady who said to him: 
" Father, old man Lambinet, who is eighty, 
hasn't eaten anything all day because he 
has been waiting for you to let him make 
his Easter duty." "Too bad!" exclaimed 
the priest, "I had forgotten all about your 
good old uncle. But I shall go at once." 

A half hour later he set out, carrying the 
Blessed Sacrament in a silver pyx sus- 
pended from his neck. Eight or ten steps 
ahead of him was an altar boy, who, al- 
though only fourteen, had the height and 
the bravery of a man ever ready to face the 
patrol of the Blues (Revolutionaries) guard- 
ing the highroad. The priest and acolyte 



180 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



cut across fields and bypaths to avoid any- 
unbidden guest. 

The priest walked on in silence. His 
whole mind was concentrated in a voiceless 
prayer of adoration. Thus they went on 
over the swampy ground, their shadows 
lengthening as the twilight drew near. Just 
before sunset, however, Father Ligournais 
raised his eyes, and saw before him a field, 
half green and half white, at the boundary of 
which the path terminated. The green por- 
tion was covered with a crop rather short or 
low; while the other bore a harvest of tall 
flowering stalks, waving gently in the breeze 
that came from off the sea. 

" What's that?" whispered the priest, 
whose eyes were a good deal dimmed by 
years. "On the right," replied the boy, 
" there's a field of flax; on the left, a field 
of beans in blossom. We've got to go across 
one of them, Father." The priest made no 
answer; but when he reached the end of the 
path he noticed two farmers who had come 
to inspect their fields and estimate the com- 
ing crops. He recognized them, and said 
to himself: " Which of the two will be 
blessed for having loaned his land for the 
passage of the Lord?" Hardly had he men- 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 181 



tally formed the question when the farmers 
answered it for him. The proprietor of the 
bean field came forward and cried out 
savagely: " Don't tramp through my crop, 
priest, or it will be worse for you." 

Father Ligournais suppressed his indigna- 
tion, and said nothing. The other farmer, 
who had drawn near and taken off his hat, 
exclaimed: "My flax is going to bloom very 
soon; but you and your servant, Father, are 
welcome to walk over it with the Blessed 
Sacrament." Big Father Ligournais, with 
head up now, walked along one of the little 
furrows; and as the shadows deepened, heard 
the barking of a dog, — the announcement 
that he had reached the thatch-roofed dwelling 
where the Easter communicant awaited him. 

The light of the half -moon made the way 
clear enough when the pastor about ten 
o'clock set out to regain his humble presby- 
tery. His altar boy walked by his side, with 
his lantern lit and swinging. When they 
reached the two fields they saw nobody in 
that of the flax; but at the entrance of the 
other, kneeling before the white-topped 
stalks, with his arms forming a cross, and 
his face toward them, was a man in tears. 
As they left the pathway to make their way 



182 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



through the flax, he sobbed out: " Father, 
Father !" "What are you doing there ?^ 
asked the priest, "I've been weeping ever 
since you went through my neighbor's field. 

" Father, let me beg you to go through my 
field this time, so that I may do some pen- 
ance." Accordingly the priest and altar 
boy walked between the tall blossom-covered 
plants. 

As a matter of fact several extraordinary 
things were noticed. The flax through which 
the Blessed Sacrament had passed grew 
thereafter so thick and so high that no one 
could recall the like. Thus was faith re- 
warded; but repentance was still more re- 
compensed. Not only did the broken stalks 
recover in two days, but when harvest time 
came, instead of the little white bean, flat 
and spotless, they found a large number of 
more rounded beans. 1 

All true virtue has for its foundation the 
nourishment of the Holy Eucharist. For 
St. Gertrude it was the furnace in which she 
kindled her fervor. All her actions before 
Holy Communion were a preparation for 
that ineffable reception, and all following it 

1 Ave Maria, May, 1913. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 183 



were offered to our Lord in thanksgiving 
for that appreciable benefit. 

One day, less prepared than usual, at 
least so she thought, she said to herself 
regretfully: "Thy Spouse is calling Thee. 
How wilt thou go to Him so little prepared?" 
Then humbling herself deeply, she replied to 
her own thought, and she was right: "What 
good will it do to remain away? Hadst 
thou a thousand years, thou wouldst not be 
able to prepare thyself, having nothing of 
thyself to make that preparation. I will go 
to the Lord with humility and confidence, 
and He will apply the adornment that is 
wanting to me." She approached the Holy 
Table. Our Lord appeared to her full of 
sweetness and, in a symbolic vision, clothed 
her in a robe, the divers colors of which 
indicated humility, hope and love. Thus 
adorned, she received her Lord. At the 
moment of communicating, she put the 
following question to our Lord: "Lord, what 
art Thou going to give me?" The divine 
Master answered: " Myself, entire with all 
My divine essence, just as the Virgin Mother 
received Me at the Annunciation." 1 

1 Handbuch der Religion by Dr. Schuster, Vol. Ill, 
page 343. 



184 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



Reflection 

" Great moments of grace/ 7 says St. 
Francis de Sales, "are the short moments 
of Benediction. Then we are in the very- 
presence of God, we kneel at His sacred feet. 
The angels of heaven surround the illumi- 
nated altar, as on the holy night when they 
surrounded the manger at Bethlehem. The 
hour, the flowers, the lighted candles, the 
scent of incense, the sweet tones of the or- 
gan, all attune the heart and excite the 
mind to pious acts and holy aspirations. 
In these blessed moments we feel as if 
transported to heaven, uniting our prayers 
with the supplications of the saints, and our 
praises with the music of angelic choirs. 
Here, the high and the low, the learned and 
the illiterate, the sick and the weary, can 
find sympathy with Jesus, and manifold are 
those graces w T hich come to us from the 
hands of our Blessed Savior at Benediction. 
Here we are strengthened in our weakness, 
enlightened in our doubts, and filled with a 
peace that is not of earth. We leave the 
church with an immoveable confidence in 
God, strong and willing to fight the battle of 
life. Just as the scent of incense lingers about 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 185 



the sanctuary long after Benediction is over, 
so do the graces of this devotion sweeten our 
actions long after we have left the house of 
God to again take up our daily work." 1 

Like the three kings of old, we come 
during the Holy Hour to visit Jesus in the 
Holy Eucharist. As the crib and the swad- 
dling clothes tested their faith, so the taber- 
nacle and the form of bread, hiding the 
God-man from us, try ours. But like the 
Magi let us fall down and offer our homage 
to our hidden Savior. As the wise men 
recognized the feeble helpless child of the 
manger, the Almighty King of heaven and 
earth, so let us see with the eyes of faith all 
under the form of bread the consubstantial 
Son of the living God. 

Let us adore and praise Him anew on our 
altars for the Holy Fathers of the Church 
call this the second birth of Christ. With 
what true devotion, ardent love, and strong 
conviction should we not approach this 
divine Sacrament. With Bouillierie we will 
exclaim: "0 ye poor mortals: whosoever 
you may be, — how great soever may be 
your miseries or your desolation, your 

1 His life by Dr. Lager, page 609. 



186 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



anxieties or your pains, your infidelities or 
your faults, — in the presence of the Holy 
Eucharist be consoled, be calmed, be re- 
assured. In the tabernacle, Jesus Christ, 
the God-man, is hidden; here the heart of 
Jesus watches that this vigil may give you 
confidence; weak and sinful though you be, 
fear not — in the Eucharist the heart of 
God watches. Here is your strength. my 
Jesus, grant that I may never be wanting 
in that confidence which Thou hast a right 
to expect from Thy faithful followers. O 
heart of Jesus, watch over me; enkindle in 
me the desire to love Thee more and more." 

"Be thou blessed, holy Virgin, through 
whom we receive the heavenly bread that 
preserves and increases true life within us." 

" Through thee, Jesus comes to me. Oh, 
grant that through thee I may truly go to 
Him. Communicate to my poor heart the 
divine fires with which thine was inflamed 
towards me. O my loving mother, teach me 
and help me to adore Him, praise Him, love 
Him, and please Him; obtain for me that I 
may receive Him with fervor in the Holy Com- 
munion, retain Him in my soul, and unite 
myself to Him so intimately that nothing 
shall be able to break or weaken the union." 



{ponttietfi Eeatung and Keflectton 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

IN the year 1847, Herman Cohn, a very 
renowned pianist of Paris, was converted 
from the Jewish faith by means of the 
Blessed Sacrament. One evening, during 
the month of May, the devotions were to 
be carried out with great solemnity at the 
church of St. Valere. Singers in choirs and 
other friends of music had united to render 
a special program. The Prince of Moscow 
was leader of the choir. He extended an 
invitation to Herman Cohn, who then 
resided in Paris, to conduct the chorus. 
Herman took no part in the service, and 
even talked and laughed during the sermon, 
but when the moment arrived for Benediction 
of the Most Blessed Sacrament a peculiar 
feeling came over him. He himself says: 



188 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



" Although I was not at all moved to bow the 
knee with the rest of the multitude, I felt 
within myself an inexplicable commotion. 
Without giving it a thought I bent my 
knee." 

From this time he was often seen at 
Benediction, and ere long he was in constant 
attendance at Mass, for in the presence of 
the Blessed Sacrament, as he says: " A most 
consoling feeling came over me." Just at 
this juncture, he was engaged to give a 
concert at Ems, but here, too, he managed 
to be present at the Holy Sacrifice. Though 
his friends remonstrated with him on this 
account, he nevertheless persevered in his 
good resolution. 

On the 8th of August, God gave him a 
special grace, which he relates as follows: 
"I attended Mass as usual. The ceremonies 
of the Holy Sacrifice have always attracted 
my attention, but this morning I was carried 
away in spirit by the prayers and the hymns, 
and I felt the grace of God doing its work in 
me. At the elevation of the Host, I was 
filled with such compunction that my eyes 
grew moist, and in hot streams the tears 
coursed dow r n my cheeks. Oh, what a 
moment! a moment never to be forgotten. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 189 



| In the very depths of my heart I felt remorse 
of conscience for my past sins and making 
an open confession to God felt consoled in 
the knowledge that He had pardoned me. 
As I left the church at Ems I was conscious 

| that I had already become a Christian. " 

On his return to Paris, on the 6th of 

. October, 1849, he received the habit of the 
Carmelite Order, with the name of "Augus- 

j tine of the Blessed Sacrament. " His special 

! request was that his cell should be as near 
as possible to the sacramental altar. All 
his mother's entreaties that he should return 
to Judaism, the faith of his father, were of 
no avail. Ordained a priest, he was the 
means of converting his sister, who, on 
noticing him carrying the Blessed Sacrament 
in procession one day, was so moved by his 
piety and devotion that she resolved to 
enter the Church which counted her good 
brother as a member. His first sermon was 
on frequent Communion, and it was generally 
conceded that no one could preach better 
than he on the subject that had taken such 
possession of his soul. 

"I have found the peace and joy of my 
heart/' he wrote, "a peace that the world 
cannot give or take away. With joy I kiss 



190 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



the very walls of my cell that holds me so 
close to You, my Jesus, in the Blessed 
Sacrament. Here I am stripped of the load 
and burden of earthly goods that have 
constantly drawn me to earth. Like a 
dove I can now rise closer to the sun of 
justice and receive the warmth of His love. 
How empty are the riches, how sad are the 
pleasures, how humiliating the honors — 
the honors that I have hitherto sought. 
Now, since my eyes have seen, my hands 
have touched, — how I pity you as you are 
hunting after the pleasures that will not 
satisfy your heart. Come to this heavenly 
Banquet which has been prepared by the 
Eternal Wisdom. Come closer to your 
Lord. Cast aside those deceiving allure- 
ments of the world and ask reconciliation of 
Jesus that you may taste with a pure heart 
the true fountain of Love." 

" Believe me, that Jesus Who dwells in 
the tabernacle in our churches is willing to 
come down from His throne to give you 
more abundant grace than He has given me. 
Prostrate yourself before Him, give Him 
your heart and He will bless you, and rest 
assured that you will taste joys indescribable. 
O Jesus, my love, how much I would like 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 191 



to show them the bliss and happiness which 
Thou hast given me and which I am enjoying 
now, if faith did not teach me that the joys 
of heaven are greater, I would almost say 
that this joy of loving you in the Blessed 
Sacrament is immeasurable. what a sweet 
peace! What heavenly bliss! What great 
joy!" 

The very cities of France and England 
through which Herman Cohn had travelled 
as an artist, and where he had entranced 
his audiences by his piano recitals, now 
witnessed him as a poor, barefooted Car- 
melite monk, known by the name of " Father 
Augustine, the preacher of the Blessed 
Sacrament." 

Later, Cardinal Wiseman invited him to 
London to preach. Thus the Carmelite 
Order was established in his diocese. 1 

The terrible persecutions in England during 
the reign of Henry VIII, and his youngest 
daughter, Queen Elizabeth, gave to the 
Catholic Church martyrs of the Blessed 
Sacrament. 

A great number of brave confessors were 

1 Maerkisches Kirchenblatt, 1866. Tabernakelwacht, 
1903. Ott: Euch., page 672. The Catholic Encyclopedia, 
Vol. I, page 153. 



192 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



dragged to their martyrdom because they 
assisted at the Sacrifice of the Mass in some 
place of concealment, or because they gave 
refuge in their homes to Catholic priests, 
or because they preserved the sacred vessels 
and vestments. Noteworthy, also, is the 
reply that many of them made when ques- 
tioned before the court of justice. Although 
frequently persons of lowly birth and un- 
educated, their words as recorded in the 
archives testify to their constancy, their 
faith and that understanding they had of 
their religion, and in all this the women were 
as brave as the men. 

In the parish archives of York, the capital 
of Northern England, it is recorded that 
during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, Eliza- 
beth Wilkinson, the wife of a miller, was 
taken before the city council. When she 
was asked why she refused to attend the 
state church she replied fearlessly, " Because 
there is no priest, no altar, no Blessed 
Sacrament there." John West, a laborer, 
being asked the same question gave this 
beautiful answer: " Because the church of 
the state is not the true church, and I don't 
want to be damned." Isable Bowman, who 
had to appear before the city council, gave 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 193 



her reason for not visiting the church in 
these words: " Because the Blessed Sacra- 
ment is not there as it was formerly. " These 
fearless replies brought many years of im- 
prisonment and often a dreadful martyrdom. 1 

"Faith," says Venerable Pere Eymard, 
"is a pure act of the mind disengaged from 
the senses. Here the senses go for nothing, 
they have no action. Faith alone must 
act, for this is the kingdom of Faith. We 
must believe even against the testimony of 
the senses, against the very laws of nature, 
against one's own experience. We must 
believe on the simple word of Jesus Christ. 
There is only one question to be asked: 
6 Who is there? ? — '1/ answers Jesus 
Christ. Let us fall down and adore. And 
this faith pure and disengaged from the 
senses, free in action, unites us simply to 
the truth of Jesus Christ in the Most Blessed 
Sacrament. The soul clears the barrier of 
the senses and enters into the admirable 
contemplation of the divine Presence of 
God under the species, sufficiently veiled 
for us to support His brilliancy, sufficiently 
transparent for the eyes of faith. ... I 

1 Kirchenlexicon, Kessel. 



194 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



thank Thee, divine Savior, for having 
donned Thyself with a winding-sheet in the 
Eucharist, thus to give my faith a spur and 
encouragement. " 

"Ah, let nobody/ ' exclaims St. Chrysos- 
tom, "come here with heartlessness, with 
lethargy, disinterestedness, or lukewarmness. 
Come with a soul filled with a burning, an 
insatiable desire. Come with more ardor 
than the thirsty stag runs to the fountain; 
come like one hungry to the table, like one 
benumbed with the cold to the blazing fire, 
like a child which throws itself on the bosom 
of its mother. Say with David, 'My soul 
languishes and is consumed. My heart 
and my flesh burn with ardor for the living 
God. Lord, my King and my God, make 
Thy altar my dwelling place. 

"0 Lord Jesus," cries out St. Bonaven- 
ture, "let my soul languish for Thee. Let 
her hunger for Thee, bread of angels, food 
of holy souls, living bread which we should 
eat every day, and which contains all sweet- 
ness, all delights. Let my heart ever long 
for Thee, desirable bread, nourish it inces- 
santly; fountain of life, let me thirst only 
for Thee. Be Thou my hope, my riches, 
my joy, my happiness, my salvation, my 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 195 



refuge, my peace, my inheritance; and 
may the eternal repose of my soul invariably 
j be placed in Thee." 

Reflection 

The religion which Christ taught is divine, 
| consequently it ought not to seem wonderful 
to us that it should contain so many sublime 
1 mysteries, entirely beyond our comprehen- 
| sion. But our divine Lord has assimilated 
heavenly treasures with temporal goods that 
thus we may more easily understand celestial 
truths. Understanding well how He could 
elucidate the profoundest doctrines by the 
simplest parables, our Lord demonstrated 
His union with our souls by means of the par- 
able of the vine and its branches. "I am the 
vine," He says, "and you are the branches." 
Everyone knows that if the branch is not 
deeply engrafted in the vine, it cannot bring 
forth good fruit,— therefore it is easily inferred 
that the Christian can do nothing profitable 
for eternal life unless united to his Savior. 

At all times, then, let us praise and exalt 
the Blessed Sacrament, the very center of 
our existence. 



{p»entg*tfr0t Eea&tna: anti Inflection 

MANIFESTATIONS OF THE BLESSED 
SACRAMENT 

Legenda 

ST. GREGORY THE GREAT, who lived 
in the year 604, was penetrated with 
devotion, reverence, and love for the Holy 
Eucharist. His famous Missal, known as 
the "Sacramentary/' gives ample proof of his 
great love for the hidden Lord. In his ser- 
mons he speaks also of the Holy Eucharist, 
and illustrates, by quotations of wonderful 
facts, the inestimable worth and the power 
of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. 

In his thirty-fifth Homily he relates: Not 
long ago it happened that a man was taken 
prisoner and carried far away. Now after 
he had been for a long time kept in prison 
without his wife knowing anything about it, 
she believed him to be dead, and caused 
every week, on certain days, the Holy 



! . 

FOR THE HOLY HOUR 197 



Sacrifice of the Mass to be offered for him. 
After a long time had elapsed this man re- 
turned home, and related to his astonished 
wife that on certain days of the week he was 
given more liberty than on others. In this 
way at length he succeeded in making his 
escape. Now when his wife inquired on 
which day of the week this favor was granted, 
she discovered that it was on those days 
upon which the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass 
was offered for him. 

In his dialogues, or conferences, upon the 
miraculous lives of the saints in Italy he re- 
lates in the fourth book the following occur- 
rence: "Agatho, Bishop of Palermo, jour- 
neyed from Sicily to Rome. Upon the way 
he fell into the danger of being shipwrecked. 
A frightful storm arose, which well-nigh 
sank the vessel in which he took passage. 
No hope remained but in the merciful pity 
of Almighty God. Then all began to pray 
and to offer up petitions to Him that their 
lives might be spared. Whilst they were 
thus praying a certain sailor was occupied in 
steering a boat which was fastened to the 
ship, but which, through the violence of the 
storm, broke the fastenings and sank with 
the unfortunate man beneath the waves, 



198 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



and Bishop Agatho reckoned him as dead. 
In the meantime the ship in which the 
Bishop sailed arrived, after many dangers, at 
the island of Ostika. Here the Bishop 
offered the Sacrifice of the Mass for the un- 
fortunate sailor and, as soon as the ship 
was repaired, continued his voyage to Rome. 
When he landed he found the sailor, whom 
he believed to be dead, standing on the 
shore. Full of joy, he inquired how he had 
escaped the great dangers of so many days. 
The sailor then related how his little boat 
seemed continually on the point of capsizing, 
but always rose unharmed again to the top 
of the waves. "At length, suddenly/' he 
narrated, "when I was quite prostrate and 
as it were out of my mind, I pronounced a 
short ejaculation to Jesus in the Blessed 
Sacrament, when my strength returned to 
me and soon after I was picked up by a ship 
and brought hither. " When the Bishop 
learned the day on which this event took 
place he discovered that it was the same on 
which he had offered Holy Mass for the un- 
fortunate man on the island of Ostika. 

In the twelfth chapter of the Acts of the 
Apostles we read about St. Peter being cast 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 199 



into prison, and bound with two chains; how 
he was then delivered by an angel in answer 
to the "prayers" of the faithful, who, we 
know, "met daily from house to house" in 
order to "break bread." 

The Annals of the Indian Missions relate 
this fact: "A pious Indian woman was pre- 
paring her daughter for her First Communion. 
When the happy day came, she dressed her 
with the greatest care, and led her piously 
to church. " After Holy Mass the happy 
girl entering her home ran to her mother. 
At the unexpected sight that met her 
eyes, the child exclaimed: 'O my mother, 
how beautiful you have made my little 
room!' 

"'Ah, my darling child/ to-day, this little 
room must be your sanctuary, where you will 
spend your time in recollection and in prayer." 
Her mother then left her alone for some 
time. 

"After many hours of calm and peace the 
mother sought her daughter in her room. 
Quietly she approached the kneeling form; it 
seemed to be motionless. She was quick to 
catch the meaning; Jesus had taken His 
little child to Heaven. 



200 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



A young cleric once heard a missionary- 
preach on the Real Presence and on the great 
love of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. 
The preacher spoke with as lively a faith as 
if he saw Jesus Christ with his own eyes, 
and the young man, being struck at this, 
said to himself: "0 my Lord, what shall 
become of me? I too must one day preach 
on Thy presence in the Holy Eucharist; but 
how feeble will my words be in comparison 
with the words of this pious priest." The 
young man related this afterwards, adding 
that from that time forward he had always 
begged of Jesus Christ the gift of a lively 
faith in the Real Presence, and that he had 
done so frequently during Mass, particularly 
at the time of the elevation. By this means 
his faith became so strong that he afterwards 
besought our Lord not to appear to him in 
any sensible manner; and he could nowhere 
find so much joy and contentment of heart 
as in a church where the Blessed Sacrament 
was preserved. 1 

St. Ephrem tells us, "When the eye of 
faith shines like a light in the heart of a 



1 " Pelican/' 1900. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 201 



Christian, it beholds unveiled the Lamb of 
God, who has immolated Himself for us and 
given His holy and pure Body to be our 
perpetual nourishment. He who is gifted 
with the eye of faith perceives God with an 
intuitive clearness, and eats the Sacred 
Body and drinks the Blood of the Immaculate 
Lamb with a well-assured faith without 
prying into any curious scrutiny on this 
holy and divine doctrine. Why try to 
pierce the impenetrable? If you scrutinize 
through curiosity, you no longer deserve the 
name of believer, but rather that of curious. 
Be thou innocent and faithful. 

"As for me, brethren, not being able to 
grasp by my understanding the sacrament 
of Jesus Christ, I dare not go any farther, 
nor endeavor to achieve the heights of these 
sacred mysteries. Even if I wished to speak 
rashly of them, I would not understand them 
any better but would be like a mad man, 
beating the air with my vain and fruitless 
efforts; for the air escapes on all sides, from 
its rarity and subtility, and so likewise are 
these holy, these venerable, these tremendous 
mysteries far above all the powers of my 
genius." 



202 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



Reflection 

Centuries ago the Royal Psalmist incites 
the Chosen People of the Old Law in glowing 
terms to give the best part of every day to 
God, and yet he knew nothing of the inesti- 
mable blessings of Christianity. Had the 
graces of the New Law been revealed to 
him, how much more ardent a message 
would he not have addressed to the people of 
Israel. Had he known of the altar where 
the Son of God is actually present under the 
appearance of Bread, and could he have 
told them that everyone, young and old, 
rich and poor, had easy access to the throne 
of God, how ardently would he not have 
exclaimed: "Fall down and adore your 
God. Praise and exalt him above all for- 
ever." 

Let us listen to the language which a 
bishop puts into the mouth of our Savior: 
" Heavenly spirits, tell ^he faithful soul that 
day and night I wait for him to come to the 
banquet which I have prepared for him. 
Tell him that I am hidden under the accidents 
of bread to nourish him and that I wish to 
contract with him a new and close covenant 
in his favor, that I may belong wholly to 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 203 



him, and he wholly to Me. I have gone to 
an infinite expense to prepare this banquet, 
sparing nothing to give him proofs of my 
affection. I, in fact, provided for him at 
the Holy Table whatever is most delicious 
on earth or in heaven, and as often as he 
communicates I replenish him with my 
graces, I transfer to him My merits, I enrich 
him with My virtues. 

"Tell him that if he does not eat of this 
celestial bread, he will die of hunger, that 
he will have no health, strength, consolation, 
peace, nor life, that he will be strongly 
tempted and will even yield to those tempta- 
tions. Tell him, if he continues to excuse 
himself and defers to eat at My table, he 
will never eat of it, neither in this life nor 
in heaven. Tell him that fear is good, but 
that love is better, and that in keeping at 
a distance from Me he despise Me; instead 
of honoring Me, that he thereby afflicts and 
offends Me." 

Who can listen to that language- without 
answering: "O Lord, who commandest me 
to partake of Thy Holy Table, and who 
threatenest Me with Thine anger if I do not 
eat Thy flesh and drink Thy blood, I shall 
regard Thy wish rather than my unworthi- 



204 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



ness, and will approach Thee with confi- 
dence since Thou invitest me with so much 
goodness. " 

During this Holy Hour let us cry out with 
St. Augustine: " Bless the Lord, my soul, 
and with all thy powers bless His Holy 
Name. Bless the Lord, my soul, and 
jealously guard the precious favors which 
He has showered upon thee. Let all His 
creatures bless the Lord; and do thou, 
my soul, unite my voice with theirs in 
chanting His praises. Let us praise God 
whose glory the angels proclaim; whom 
the Dominations adore, before whom the 
Powers tremble, whom the Cherubim and 
Seraphim honor, prostrate in His presence, 
crying out with ceaseless voices, 'Holy, 
Holy, Holy/ Joining our voices with theirs, 
weak and feeble though they be, let us 
sound the praises of Him who is our Savior 
and the Savior of all." 

" Sound, sound His praises higher still, 
and come ye angels to our aid; "'Tis God, 
'tis God, the very God whose power both 
man and angels made. Sweet Sacrament, 
we Thee adore, make us love Thee more 
and more." 




f&toent^&econti Keating ana Kef lection 

MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

THE great St. John Chrysostom, patriarch 
of Constantinople during the fifth cen- 
tury, has ever been regarded as one of 
the shining lights of the Church. Among 
the many conversions which he effected, the 
most remarkable was that of a heretic whom 
he had succeeded in bringing back to the 
true fold. The wife of the heretic, however, 
still adhered to her unbelief, and, though 
after much persuasion she seemed to sanction 
her husband's way of thinking, her heart 
nevertheless remained untrue. Finally she 
was induced to accompany him to church 
and even to seek forgiveness of God in the 
Sacrament of Penance. The next morning 
she received Holy Communion with apparent 
devotion, but instead of swallowing the 



206 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



Sacred Host she took it from her mouth 
and placed it upon a piece of bread which 
she had about her person. Scarcely, how- 
ever, had she attempted to eat the bread 
than it turned into a stone and almost 
choked her. But God in addition to His 
power is also merciful, and so He conferred 
upon the erring woman the grace of a con- 
trite heart and sincere compunction. 

Full of fear at the miracle, she at once 
sought the Bishop, confessed her crime, did 
penance, and was thoroughly converted. 
The miraculous stone bearing the imprint 
of her teeth was placed in the depository of 
the Cathedral Church of Constantinople. 1 

During the French Revolution a noble 
lady was imprisoned in a gloomy dungeon 
at Paris. Her little daughter, twelve years 
old, remained under the care of a faithful 
old servant. The child's father was absent 
with the army of Conde. The little girl's 
one thought was to get admission to her 
mother's prison. At last she made the ac- 
quaintance of the jailer's wife; and the 
kind woman used to dress her in her own 

1 His Life by Stephen. The Catholic Encyclopedia, 
Vol. VII, page 492. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 207 



child's clothes and send her to her mother's 
cell on various errands. For three months 
she used to visit her mother regularly, 
though only for a short time. 

The mother told the child one day to go to 
a certain priest, and ask him to let her make 
her first Communion. The little one went 
to the priest, and he readily granted her 
request — and bade her return the next 
morning. When she went back on the 
following morning, he had just offered the 
Holy Sacrifice for her mother's intention, 
and reserved two Hosts. 

"My child," he said "I am going to trust 
you with a sacred mission. I am going to let 
you carry the Blessed Sacrament to your 
good mother, in this hour of direst need; 
and you shall make your First Communion 
at the same time." 

The child went in solemn joy to her 
mother, bearing Christ the Consoler. The 
jailer's wife left the two alone. They fell on 
their knees and adored the Sacred Hosts. 
The mother taking one of the Hosts in her 
hand, she received It as Viaticum, and then 
gave the child her First Communion. 

The next day the little child went to the 
prison to see her mother; but the jailer's wife 



208 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



said that her mother was no longer there. 
When advanced in years the girl used to 
say: "It happened seventy years ago." 1 

There is kept on file in the archives of the 
church at Riedenheim, Bavaria, a letter 
written by the pastor recounting a miracle 
which happened on July 8, 1896. 

"I am relating a miracle of the Blessed 
Sacrament which was witnessed by the 
whole parish. On July 8, 1896, the feast 
of St. Kilian, a patron of our diocese, a 
terrible storm arose at about 5 p. m. : we all 
thought our last hour had come. After the 
storm had raged for some time, suddenly 
two flashes of lightning, accompanied by 
deafening crashes of thunder, struck into 
barns that were filled with hay and grain, 
and in a moment three barns were in full 
blaze. A few minutes later several dwell- 
ings and stables, in addition to several 
smaller buildings, were burning. So rapidly 
did the fire spread that most of the cattle 
and nearly all the furniture fell a prey to it. 
The houses and barns on the west and east 
of the fire district had already been seized 
by the raging element, and the fierce wind 
from the northwest kept driving the flames 

1 Ave Maria. Vol. V, '16. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 209 



across the streets towards the buildings on 
the opposite side. In a short time they too 
would have fallen a prey to the consuming 
element, and then the whole village would 
inevitably have been lost. In this great 
danger and distress I hastened to the church, 
and, taking the monstrance with the Blessed 
Sacrament, I went to the place of the fire 
and gave Benediction. Everybody knelt 
down and adored their God concealed under 
the frail species of bread. All immediately 
witnessed how the suffocating smoke and 
flames suddenly changed their course, rolled 
up against the strong northwest wind, and 
gradually dispersed in fields and gardens. 

"For hours the smoke and fire successfully 
forced their way through the wind that was 
blowing from the opposite direction. At the 
same time the fire blazing on the neighboring 
buildings was extinguished in an equally 
miraculous manner, and confined itself to 
its original starting place. 

In this visible miracle of God's protection 
I recognize a reward for the zeal with which 
my parishioners adore the Blessed Sacra- 
ment. On Sundays, from six o'clock in the 
morning to # six in the evening, every hour, 
five or six persons adore the Blessed Sacra- 



210 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



ment, and in the afternoon often twenty to 
thirty." 1 

"Whilst catechising the people/' said the 
saintly Cure d'Ars, "two Protestant minis- 
ters came to me who did not believe in the 
Real Presence of our Lord in the Blessed 
Sacrament. I said to them: 'Do you think 
a piece of bread could detach itself and of 
its own accord place itself on the tongue of 
a person w T ho came near to receive it?' 
They replied in the negative. 'Well, then/ 
said I, 'it is not bread.'" The holy priest 
then related the following fact: "There 
was a man who had doubts about the Real 
Presence. He said, what do we know about 
it since it is not certain what consecration 
is, and what takes place at that time on the 
altar? This man, however, wished to believe 
and prayed to the Blessed Virgin to obtain 
faith for him. Listen attentively to this. 
I do not say that it happened somewhere, 
but that it happened to myself. At the 
moment that this man came up to receive 
Holy Communion, the Sacred Host de- 
tached itself from my fingers, whilst I was 
yet some distance from the communion 

1 Tabernacle and Purgatory, page 199, Vol. 9. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 211 



rail, and placed itself on the tongue of the 
man." 1 

Our Lord has often indicated by mirac- 
ulous signs the rewards meted out to the 
worthy communicants: St. John of the Cross 
during the celebration of the Mass was sur- 
rounded by a mysterious light; the face of 
St. Sylvanus, a pupil of St. Bernard, be- 
came as the sun whenever he officiated at 
the altar; St. Euthemius was surrounded by 
a pillar of light during the celebration of the 
Holy Sacrifice; the countenance of St. Ventu- 
rine of Bergamo, while saying Mass, emitted 
rays of supernatural splendor and his people 
saw a burning torch in his mouth and his 
eyes shining with the brilliancy of stars 
whenever he read or sang the gospel; St. 
Peter Tolasansus, at the time of the ele- 
vation of both the Host and the chalice, 
always saw Jesus as a beautiful child. 2 

Reflection 

Mons. Lecourtier, in his " Explanation of 
the Mass," says: "Come all and see the 

L Ott: Euch., page 676. His Life pub. Cologne, 1865. 
Andacht Z. HI. Eucharistie, Huguet. 

2 Giovanne Maria della Croce by Weber, 1864, Re- 
gensburg. 



212 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



work of God. He has restored life to my 
soul. I live now, but no, it is no longer I 
who live, it is Christ who lives in me. My 
darkness has been visited by His light, my 
misery by His strength, my mortality by 
His grace. Come, then, sinner, come and 
taste of this admirable life; you will then 
see, you will then feel, how consoling is this 
transition from the state in which you are, 
to the state in which Christ wishes to lead 
you; you will understand that man is dead 
if he enjoys only the material life which he 
shares with the brute, and that he really 
lives only when his soul, united to God, lifts 
itself up to its first beginning and its last 
end. In a word, man lives only in the soul; 
if the senses predominate, he is placed on 
the level with the beast. The soul, in its 
turn, lives but in God; beyond that, it finds 
nothing in reason, in science, in worldly 
affection but a most insufficient food. Now, 
it is particularly in the Holy Eucharist that 
this life of God is imparted to our soul. It 
is there that God becomes the soul of our 
soul, the heart of our heart. It is there 
that, living in His spirit, we draw from 
the divine spirit peace, joy and eternal 
life." 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 213 



"The Sacrament of the altar/' says St. 
Thomas Aquinas, "is the expression of the 
greatest love God could give us. Every- 
thing, in fact, speaks to us therein of the 
immense love of Jesus Christ towards men, 
the circumstances in which He instituted 
it, the sentiments which animated His di- 
vine heart, the excellence of the gift He has 
bestowed on us, His designs in instituting it, 
the state to which He is reduced. Every- 
thing therein reminds us of these words 
of St. John: 1 Jesus . . . having loved His 
own who were in the world, He loved 
them to the end.' He loved men with a 
constant, generous love which nothing could 
weaken, with a love which showed itself 
greatest at the very moment when He 
encountered the most hatred and ingratitude. 

"How great then is this love for us? Why 
is it not given to us to understand the sen- 
timents of affection and tenderness that 
pierced His heart at the moment when He 
bequeathed to us the treasure of the Holy 
Eucharist, which is the testament of the 
new covenant? " 

During this Holy Hour, therefore, let us 
thank Jesus for His infinite love for us: 
O Jesus, how great is Thy affection for us. 



214 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



Thou sayest, I am dying of the desire to 
communicate myself to your soul and you 
soon add, while presenting to us the con- 
secrated bread and wine: "Take . . . 
this is My Body. Drink . . . this is My 
Blood." immense, incomprehensible, in- 
finite love. A God gives Himself entirely 
to us. A God annihilates Himself through 
love of His miserable creatures. Jesus, 
be my only love . . . No, I no longer belong 
to myself; I am Thine, wholly Thine. 




MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

A FRENCH publication of 1866, styled 
"The Annals of the Blessed Sacra- 
ment/' gives the following account under 
the heading of "The Consecrated Hosts 
and the Golden Ciborium of Bezilla de la 
Riviere. " 

During the French Revolution, all the 
churches of France were pillaged and de- 
stroyed, but for some reason the church of 
Bezilla escaped molestation up to the fif- 
teenth of September, 1793. The good people 
of the parish celebrated the octave of the 
Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary with 
their regular monthly procession and two 
days later the Holy Sacrifice was celebrated, 
for that was to be the last time. The ad- 
herents of the Revolution, forcing their 



216 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



way into the little town on that day, com- 
pelled the priest, Father Berone, to flee for 
his life. Taking refuge in St. Julien on the 
river Jet, he had expressed the wish of 
returning to his parish for a short time that 
he might adjust matters about the church, 
but as the revolutionists were steadily gain- 
ing ground, he had surrendered his desires 
and fled to Spain for safety. Only after a 
seven years' exile was it possible for him to 
return to his own country. 

A young girl from the town of Bezilla, 
Rose Florence by name, overhearing the 
remarks of the pastor, wondered much what 
was the cause of his anxiety. Then it 
suddenly dawned upon her that probably 
the good priest feared that a sacrilege 
might be committed with the Blessed Sac- 
rament which he had been unable to remove 
before leaving. Immediately she began to 
plan how she might secure the Sacred Species 
to protect it from the insults of the mob. 
The undertaking was hazardous, for capital 
punishment was meted out to any one found 
entering a church that had been closed by 
the revolutionary tribunal. However, the 
eagerly sought opportunity at last came. 
Jean Bonof, one of Rose's friends, had just 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 



been elected mayor and she had no mis- 
givings in confiding to him her secret. The 
good man entered heart and soul into the 
work, and, on February 7th, regardless of 
his own peril, he sought the church with the 
girl and some other witnesses. Going to 
the tabernacle, he found a large Host in the 
monstrance and four Hosts in the ciborium, 
one of which was broken in two. Placing 
the small ones in an ablution cup and giving 
them to the girl for safe keeping, he took 
the monstrance to his own home. 

From 1794 to 1800, Mayor Bonof kept 
this same monstrance locked in his cedar- 
trunk, before which his family would often 
kneel and pray. The small Hosts were 
placed by Rose's mother in a crystal re- 
ceptacle and kept in a small cupboard, the 
door of which was opened only for daily 
prayers. During the six years the reposi- 
tory had been moved twice and then only 
when the revolutionists were inspecting the 
house. 

After peace had been restored and the 
old pastor had returned to his parish, the 
Hosts were again removed to the church 
and placed in the tabernacle. An episcopal 
and civil investigation was forthwith made 



218 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



to determine about the rescue and preser- 
vation of the Hosts, whereupon the follow- 
ing statement was drawn up: (1) That the 
consecrated Hosts were the identical ones 
that had been taken from the tabernacle 
in 1793; (2) that the investigation held on 
the third of May, 1801, showed that no 
change was found in the consecrated parti- 
cles, and that they had remained intact 
during all these years. 

Another fact, no less miraculous than the 
preservation of the Blessed Sacrament, was 
the change that took place in the crystal 
receptacle containing the four small Hosts. 
The little vessel, plain and without ornamen- 
tation, was found to be encircled with gold, 
when it again came into the hands of the 
priest on the fifth of December, 1800. After 
the Hosts had been removed however, only 
certain parts retained their original bril- 
liancy. Several tests were made on the 
gold that remained, but not even the best 
jeweler could explain, either by scratching, 
or rubbing, or applying chemicals, why it 
would not be removed. It seemed to be 
imbedded in the very crystal itself. Since 
that time thousands upon thousands of pil- 
grims have examined this curious little 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 219 



vessel. From the year 1848, the Sacred 
Hosts have been carried in solemn proces- 
sion throughout the city on a particular 
feast, on which occasion the faithful visit 
the holy spot. 

One day, whilst St. John Chrysostom was 
celebrating the holy Mysteries, soldiers were 
sent by the Empress Eudoxia to take him 
prisoner. Now, when they came to the 
church, they saw an angel standing at the 
entrance brandishing his sword to prevent 
the soldiers from entering, so that they were 
obliged to go home without having ac- 
complished anything. Something similar is 
related by Ado, where he tells us that when 
the Saxons were about to enter sacrilegiously 
into a church which had been consecrated by 
St. Boniface, they found two young men of 
exquisite beauty and heavenly brightness 
standing at the entrance. They were angels 
of the Lord, who prevented them from en- 
tering the church, and put them to a shame- 
ful flight. Now this angel may be either the 
guardian angel of the priest, of the altar, or 
of the church, who assists the priest at the 
altar, in order that he may be enabled to 
celebrate the sacred Mysteries with greater 



220 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



devotion and reverence. It is for this reason 
that the priest, after consecration, prays in 
every Mass in a posture of profound humility: 
"We humbly beseech Thee, Almighty God, 
that Thou wouldst command these to be 
carried by the hands of Thy Holy Angel to 
Thy sublime altar before the sight of Thy 
divine Majesty." Besides this guardian 
angel of the altar, of the church, there are 
also many other angels present at the Holy 
Sacrifice of the Mass. St. Euthemias, when 
saying Mass, used to see many angels assist- 
ing at the Sacred Mysteries in reverential 
awe. St. Guduvalus, Archbishop, often saw 
how # the angels descended from heaven dur- 
ing Mass, chanting hymns of praise with 
unspeakably great reverence; but he himself 
would be standing at the altar like a ma- 
jestic column of fiery flame whilst he was 
celebrating the Holy Sacrifice. St. Basil 
and St. Chrysostom testify to having seen 
at the time of the Mass many hosts of the 
angels in human form, clothed with white 
garments, and standing round the altar as 
soldiers stand before the king. But what 
was their attitude and deportment? Their 
heads were bowed, their faces covered, their 
hands crossed, and the whole body so pro- 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 221 



foundly inclined as to express the deepest 
sense of their own unworthiness to appear 
before the divine Majesty. 

O fathomless depths of the riches of God's 
graces, that are made manifest to us in the 
Most Blessed Sacrament! 

Reflection 

The saints were the apostles of devotion 
to the Holy Eucharist. And with what 
fervor did they not endeavor to propagate 
and revive it! With what love did they 
not proclaim its dignity and efficacy! With 
what zeal did they not invite people to sit 
down at the divine Banquet, saying to them, 
as did St. John Chrysostom: " Approach 
the Holy Table and your hunger and thirst 
will be appeased, your minds will be en- 
lightened, and the wounds of your souls 
healed, for there is the heavenly food, the 
divine fountain, the true light. " 

Nothing so filled them with joy as to see 
the faithful crowd to the Holy Table, while 
nothing caused them more pain than the 
sight of the indifference or contempt of 
men in reference to the Bread of Heaven. 
Their souls were torn with grief, like the 
Blessed Margaret Mary's, at the thought 



222 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



that Jesus is so little loved in His Holy 
Sacrament. 

Whence comes the superhuman courage of 
the martyrs but from the supernatural Bread 
on which they feed. 

"See," says St. Augustine, "the beloved 
disciple who enters into the boiling oil. 
Whence comes his strength? From the cup 
from which he had drunk at the last supper. 
See St. Andrew who embraces his cross, 
whence cometh that joy? From the Blood 
of the Lamb wliich he offered up every day. 
See that victorious troop of the saints who 
tire the cruelties of the executioners by the 
firmness of their courage. What is it that 
infuses into all of them this invincible gen- 
erosity, but the mysterious wine that makes 
martyrs, as well as virgins, become spouses 
of Jesus?" 

The saints felt that Jesus was present 
everywhere, righting everything, vivifying 
everything, living through their hearts, 
speaking through their tongues, hearing 
through their ears, animating everything 
with His heavenly Life. 

"O Bread of life, sweet Food," cries out 
St. Lawrence Justinian, "delicious repast, 
of which the immaculate lamb and the 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 223 



manna were but imperfect figures, who could 
receive you, who would praise you worthily, 
who could comprehend you perfectly, and 
form desires which could equal all that you 
contain? I almost swoon away when I 
think of you. Ah, where is the heart that 
would not melt into sweetest devotion when 
it feels its God united corporally to it, and 
it, in turn, to its God? The heart is not 
capable of conceiving the secret of so great 
a mystery, the tongue cannot express it, 
the human mind cannot enter into it." 

With regard to the reception of the Holy 
Eucharist, our Lord places no restrictions 
regarding persons. Worthy and unworthy, 
if they present themselves at His holy altar, 
are alike the recipients of this divine Sacra- 
ment. St. Thomas asserts that He permits 
Himself to be handled by the hands of the 
wretches, and to be lacerated by the teeth 
of the unclean. It would have been great 
goodness on the part of our Lord if He had 
allowed only men of exceeding holiness to 
approach Him, but far more infinite is His 
condescension when He gives Himself even 
to the unworthy. How inexpressible is 
Christ's love for mankind! 

In his wonderment the Royal Prophet 



224 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



exclaimed: "0 how good is the God of 
Israel! " Let us, overwhelmed with the 
excess of Jesus ' goodness, cry out with 
still more ardor: "How good is Christ 
reposing in our tabernacle !" 




UtotntMowtfy l&eatuno; ana Inflection 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

ST. LEONARD of Port Maurice, who on 
account of his innumerable missions has 
received the title of the Apostle of Rome 
and of Italy may most justly be called the 
Apostle of the Most Holy Sacrament and 
of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. At the age of 
twenty-one he entered the Franciscan Order, 
already far advanced in virtue and knowledge. 
Being ordained priest he fell ill, and could 
find no means of recovery. At this juncture 
he turned to the Blessed Mother of God, and 
with most fervent prayer he promised her 
to devote his life entirely to missionary 
work if she would obtain of her Son for him 
the gift of restored health. His prayer was 
granted. In a short time after he became 
so strong and healthy that he was able to 
undertake any work, however difficult. 



226 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



For forty years he traveled through all 
villages, cities, islands, even the entire king- 
dom of Italy. He passed through the 
roughest country amidst snow and rain, and 
even to the latest years of his life, with 
naked feet. Innumerable were the conver- 
sions which, by the grace of God, he effected. 
He used to say, "My only deadly foe is 
mortal sin." It was as a special means of 
resisting and overcoming this great enemy 
of man's salvation that he regarded the 
devotion to the Blessed Sacrament of the 
Altar. This devotion he had practiced from 
his tenderest years. 

When he commenced his missionary career 
he made this Sacred Mystery to be the aim 
and center of all his endeavors, and strove 
to* honor it on every occasion by inward and 
outward acts of faith and love, and to further 
this devotion by every means in his power 
in the hearts of others. His first visit when 
he arrived at any place was to the Blessed 
Sacrament. Daily he offered Holy Mass 
with such devotion that all present who 
assisted thereat were edified. In order to 
prepare himself most worthily for this func- 
tion he confessed every day. Every morning 
he heard as many Masses as his work per- 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 227 



mitted, and at the elevation it was his custom 
to make an intention of being present at all 
the Masses offered that day throughout the 
world, in order to present them to the Divine 
Majesty. 

Holy Mass he called the sun of Christen- 
dom, the soul of the faith, the central point 
of the Catholic religion, towards which all 
the customs, ceremonies, and the other Holy 
Sacraments tend. He never approached the 
altar without offering to the Eternal Father 
three and thirty times the Precious Blood of 
Jesus, in honor of the three and thirty years 
of his life, in order to gain the grace of purity 
of heart which should never be stained by 
the smallest spot. In all his missions he im- 
pressed with fiery word of zeal upon his 
hearers the duty of attending the Blessed 
Sacrament with the greatest possible solem- 
nity when being carried to the sick. At 
Ancona his exhortations had such effect that 
from that time the burgesses hurried in 
couples to follow the procession whenever the 
All-Holy was being carried to the sick. On 
some occasions five hundred wax lights might 
be counted in these processions. Also at 
Minerbio, in the Province of Ferrara, the 
whole people turned out of doors, carrying 



228 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



wax lights, in order to accompany the Blessed 
Sacrament to a poor person whose hut lay ten 
minutes walk from the church. In the same 
way he carried his point at Ochiobello in 
Ferrara, where he induced bishops and other 
persons of rank to accompany the Blessed 
Sacrament. 

Nearest to his heart was the devotion of 
the Perpetual Adoration, which was al- 
ready founded in Rome, and in other places 
besides. Before his death he had the satis- 
faction of seeing Perpetual Adoration intro- 
duced in one hundred and thirty parishes. 
In short, from his earliest childhood until his 
dying day our saint was full of unbounded 
love for Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament. 1 

In the days of St. Philip Neri there lived 
at Naples, in the Congregation of the Im- 
maculate Conception, a nun of extraordinary 
piety, named Ursula Benincasa. This sister 
had a very great devotion to the Blessed 
Sacrament. When she received It her heart 
was so dilated that its palpitations could be 
distinctly perceived by the movement of her 
dress. It was the Blessed Sacrament that 
gave her strength to support with invincible 
patience extreme bodily sufferings. When 

1 Leben d. sel. Leonhard. Heithausen und Gehlen. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 



229 



in great pain it frequently sufficed for its 
alleviation that the priest , who had just 
celebrated Holy Mass, should lay his hands 
on her head by way of blessing; and al- 
though her stomach would refuse all food, 
yet she was never known to be unable to 
receive the Bread of Heaven. 

The Holy Father, Pope Gregory XIII, be- 
ing anxious to ascertain the reality of her 
piety, desired St. Philip to put it to a test. 
He therefore forbade her to receive Holy 
Communion. Ursula obeyed and for 
months contented herself with Spiritual 
Communion. Her desire for Holy Com- 
munion became so intense that she fainted 
from exhaustion and the doctor announced 
that she could not live. One of the sisters 
suggested that she be allowed to receive 
Holy Communion as a means of recovery. 
No sooner did the priest appear with the 
Blessed Sacrament than she again breathed, 
her strength returned, and after receiving 
the Bread of Life she entirely recovered. 

For the saints the Blessed Sacrament was 
heaven on earth. Therefore Blessed Cres- 
centia of Kaufbeuren often said: "Two 



230 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



things constitute my heaven here on earth, 
the will of God and the Blessed Sacrament." 

Venerable Maria of Escobar, on one oc- 
casion when receiving Holy Communion, 
saw the heavens open and countless angels 
looking down upon her, marvelling at God's 
goodness towards man. To St. Gertrude 
our Lord said: "If a person free from mortal 
sin receives Me, I incline towards him in so 
gracious a manner, that all in heaven, on 
earth, and under the earth receive the in- 
estimable benefit of my grace.' ' Our Savior 
revealed to St. Mechtildis that if man were 
capable of realizing the benefit he might 
draw from Holy Communion, he would die 
of joy. The Blessed Cure d'Ars was in- 
debted to the Holy Eucharist for all his 
virtues, his inspirations, his power and his 
gifts. He said: "One Holy Communion 
suffices to detach the soul from this earth 
and inflame it with the love of God. He 
relates the following incident: "Not long ago 
a nobleman received Holy Communion here. 
What was the result? He possessed a for- 
tune of 300,000 francs and of this he gave 
100,000 to the poor, 100,000 for the building 
of a new church, and the remainder he left 
to his relatives. He then became a Trap- 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 231 



pist. A very learned lawyer followed his 
example and after a worthy Holy Com- 
munion renounced all earthly possessions 
and entered the Dominican Order. " 

Reflection 

Our dear Lord has given us His precious 
Body to be our food, yet that body never 
diminishes nor is it consumed, it remains 
always whole and entire. St. Thomas, com- 
menting on the wonderful miracle of the 
multiplication of the loaves, says: "Why 
cannot God preserve His Body so that when 
eaten it is not diminished or consumed?" 
We fail to appreciate the wisdom of God 
and His benefits, as we do not take time to 
reflect what He has accomplished for us, 
and what He is continually doing before our 
eyes. Solomon, the great king of old, cried 
out: "Is it then to be thought that God 
should dwell upon earth?" In like manner 
let the consideration of these truths find 
fruit in our hearts: Is it then to be thought 
that Christ, although He is in heaven, still 
remains with us here upon earth in the 
Blessed Eucharist? Is it then to be thought 
that Christ has humbled Himself to such an 
extent as to place His immensity within the 



232 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



limits of a small Host? Is it to be thought 
that Christ desires to give us always His 
Body to eat, and still preserves it entire? 
Aye, not only to be thought but actually 
known to be the case. 

This is what the Church teaches us in the 
hymn of the Blessed Sacrament, "He who 
receives the Body of Christ does not bruise 
it, does not break it, does not divide it, 
receives it whole and entire, and does not 
divide but makes only a separation of the 
signs and accidents. " "O illusion of the 
senses/' exclaims St. Jerome, "the accidents 
with which Thou appearest to our senses to 
be clothed, are broken, but Thou, Lord, 
remainest whole and entire. It seems to 
our senses that we chew Thee between our 
teeth, but we never do so to Thee. Thou 
remainest always whole and entire, without 
any division, without any corruption, in even 
the least particle. Who can conceive the 
power manifested in the august Sacrament 
in such a variety of ways. Thousands of 
places holding the Sacred Body at the same 
time, God in one Host the same as in a 
million, God in a million of hearts each 
moment, and two millions, and ten, and a 
hundred. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 233 



We may exclaim here with the Psalmist: 
"Who shall declare the power of the Lord? 
Who shall set forth all the wonders of His 
works?" The Blessed Eucharist is truly a 
memorial of His wonderful works. 

How much, then, should we not admire 
the wonderful inventions of Christ's wisdom 
in the Holy Eucharist, and His bounteous 
liberality in becoming the food of our souls. 
With hearts filled with gratitude, therefore, 
let us never weary of repeating: 

" Down in adoration falling, lo, the Sacred Host we hail. 
Lo, o'er ancient forms departing newer rites of grace 
prevail; 

Faith for all defects supplying, where the feebler senses 
fail." 



Wnmtg^ttttl l&eatiinff and Inflection 

MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

A PIOUS Jesuit missionary was traveling 
the wildest regions of North America to 
win souls for Christ; he stopped at the prin- 
cipal villages, and often found there savages 
whom grace brought to him from a consider- 
able distance. He instructed and baptized 
those whom he thought well disposed, and 
then went on his way to other places. A 
savage one day presented himself to him, 
whose fervor appeared to be something ex- 
traordinary; as soon as he was well in- 
structed in the mysteries of our holy religion, 
the missionary administered baptism to him, 
and also gave him Holy Communion, which 
this good Indian received with the most 
lively transports of love and gratitude. 

The missionary then went on other apos- 
tolic excursions. A year after he returned to 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 



235 



the place where dwelt this Indian convert. 
As soon as the latter was aware of the mis- 
sionary's arrival, he ran to throw himself at 
his feet and bathed them with tears; he 
knew not how to express the joy he felt in 
seeing again him who had begotten him to 
Jesus Christ. He soon entreated the Father 
to grant him once more the happiness he had 
made him enjoy the year before. "Of what 
happiness do you speak?" asked the mis- 
sionary. "Ah! my Father do you not 
know? — the happiness of receiving within 
me the Body of my God!" "Willingly, my 
child, but first you must go to confession. 
Have you examined your conscience well?" 
"Father, I examined it every day, as you 
charged me to do last year." "In that case, 
kneel down and declare me the faults you 
may have fallen into since your baptism?" 
"What faults, Father?" "Why, the grievous 
faults you feel you have wilfully committed 
against the commandments of God and the 
Church." "Grievous faults," answered the 
savage, all amazed; "can anyone offend God 
after they are baptized, and especially after 
they have received Communion? Are there 
anywhere Christians capable of such in- 
gratitude?" Saying these words, he burst 



236 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



into tears, and the missionary, on his side, 
wept too, blessing God for having prepared 
for Himself even in the forests of America 
such worshipers, who may, indeed, be called 
worshipers in spirit and in truth. 1 

The yearning for solitude, and to break 
away from a world sunk in idolatry and 
wickedness, was felt and carried out, first 
in the deserts of Egypt, whence it spread into 
Arabia and Syria; and those vast expanses 
of silence and solitude became peopled with 
thousands of pious souls, who had abandoned 
everything in order to be alone with God. 

A great number dwelt in caves in the sur- 
rounding mountains, and these were wont 
to come daily to the churches, in order to 
receive Holy Communion, and to rest con- 
tent, satisfied with this heavenly Food, until 
the following day. 

The Holy Eucharist was the life-giving 
Food of all those holy solitaries; they could 
not have lived as they did without it. We 
read of the saintly Abbot, Paphnutius, that 
at ninety years of age he took a journey of 
three leagues every Saturday and Sunday 
to the nearest church. St. Arsenius dwelt 

1 Dubussi, Nouv. Mois de Marie, 135. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 237 



thirteen leagues from any church, yet he 
visited in order to communicate. 

Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrus, the cele- 
brated Church historian, who has recorded 
many beautiful examples from the lives of 
holy solitaries and monks of the desert, 
related of Maris, the holy solitary who had 
dwelt thirty years in a dilapidated little hut 
(at a place called Netis) not far from Cyrus, 
and was then ninety-nine years of age, that, 
being on one occasion allowed to visit him 
in his cell, he was entreated by the old man 
to permit him once more to assist at the 
celebration of the Divine Mysteries. The- 
odoret complied. The sacred vessels being 
brought, as there was no table in the poor 
little hut, he offered the Most Holy Sacrifice 
on the hands of his deacons, in order to satisfy 
the pious longings of the venerable old man. 

St. Basil relates that where the distance 
was too great for such constant visits to the 
church, they were permitted occasionally 
to take the Holy Eucharist back with them 
to their cells. It is said of St. Simon the 
elder, an anchorite, that having carried out 
a resolution of eating nothing during the 
long fast, he was found by the Priest, Bassus, 
lying on the ground apparently without life. 



238 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



Bassus moistened his lips with a sponge, and 
placed the Blessed Sacrament in his mouth. 
Quickened by the heavenly Food, he arose 
from his death-like swoon, and thenceforth 
received Holy Communion, daily. When, 
later on, he ascended the pillar upon which 
he spent the remainder of his life in prayer, 
Bishop Domnus used to ascend a ladder 
to communicate him. Another anchorite, 
Simon the younger, who also for many years 
lived on a pillar, and received the Holy 
Eucharist miraculously, was ordained and 
said Holy Mass upon the pillar. 

St. Onophrius lived in the very depths of 
the desert for seventy years, receiving the 
Holy Eucharist every Sunday at the hands of 
an angel. Thus do the pious dwellers in the 
desert, in those earliest days of the history of 
the Church, bear witness that the Holy Eucha- 
rist is the life-giving Food of soul and body, 
and a Sacrifice for the salvation of the world. 

Alphonsus Rodriguez, an author of spir- 
itual treatises, relates in one of his books 
the story of a certain gentleman living in a 
German province who, after having lost the 
greater part of his fortune, was tempted to 
commit suicide. He was advised by a pious 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 239 



clergyman to confide his troubles to our good 
Lord, and to make the promise to hear Mass 
daily that he might thus rid himself of his 
temptation. A priest was therefore en- 
gaged by the man to say Mass in his pri- 
vate chapel. It happened one day that the 
chaplain went to a neighboring town. The 
man who had engaged the chaplain, fearing 
that he might lose Mass, hurried after the 
priest. Meeting a peasant on the way, he 
was told that the Holy Sacrifice was already 
over. On hearing this he gave way to tears, 
saying in his despondency: "Alas, this may 
be the last day of my life." The peasant, 
being told the cause of his discomfiture, 
answered: "Do not be troubled; I will give 
you all the graces I received by attending 
Mass this morning if you will give me your 
cloak." The man went on his way rejoicing. 
Nevertheless he sought the church and there 
made urgent supplication to God. As the 
gentleman returned from church he found 
the peasant suspended from a tree, dead. 
• • 

"Ah, where are we?" exclaims St. John 
Chrysostom: "heaven has nothing, ab- 
solutely nothing more than earth; the 
earth has become a new heaven. It is 
indeed the same infinite God, the same 



240 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



all-powerful Creator of worlds, the same 
loving Redeemer, who only desires to be 
Emmanuel, or God with us, but a hidden 
God only, a God humbled through love, a 
lamb full of divine meekness, a victim of 
propitiation for our sins." 

Reflection 

The first birth of Christ in the stable of 
Bethlehem was truly wonderful, since the 
Son of God took upon Himself the form of 
a servant and became like unto us all save 
sin. Yet his second birth in the Blessed 
Sacrament is not the less wonderful, that 
birth by which He becomes present to us in 
the form of bread. And the greatest aspect 
of the marvel is that this is accomplished 
by the word of mortal man, a priest. God 
does not speak the word, nor do His angels. 
A poor creature like ourselves utters but a 
short sentence and the greatest miracle of 
nature and grace takes place, in which the 
substance of bread and wine is changed 
entirely at the sacred time of consecration, 
— changed into the Body and Blood of 
Christ. 

By the word of God the heavens were 
created and the earth called into existence; 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 241 



the word of the same God also uttered by 
the lips of a frail human being, the Blessed 
Sacrament of the altar becomes what it is. 

marvelous, thrice marvelous word of God! 
Hail, sacred tabernacles, to which Thou, O 

Lord, dost descend at the voice of a mortal! 
Hail, mysterious altar, where faith comes to 
receive its immortal food! Oh, I love Thy 
temple, it is an island of peace in the ocean 
of the world, a beacon of immortality. Thou 
art near to hear us. Is there a tongue equal 
to the ecstasy of the heart? Whatever my 
lips may articulate, this blood which circu- 
lates, this bosom which breathes in Thee, 
this heart which beats and expands, these 
bathed tears, this silence, — all pray in me. 
So swell the waves as the rising of the king 
of day, so revolve the stars, mute with rev- 
erence and love, and Thou comprehendest 
their silent hymn. Ah, Lord, in like manner 
comprehend me; hear what I pronounce not 
for silence in the highest voice of a heart 
that is overpowered with Thy glory. 

During this Holy Hour let us publicly 
confess with St. Augustine: "Yes, my Lord, 

1 solemnly acknowledge that I do not under- 
stand how Thou canst be so completely 
enshrouded, Thou splendor of divine maj- 



242 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



esty. But I do know that Thou canst do 
greater things than I can understand. And 
I believe that Thou hast done this: I be- 
lieve in Thy love for me, a sinner worthy of 
punishment. Thou goest so far as to for- 
get Thyself and to work this great miracle 
in order to be with us. 

" Therefore, at all times let us praise and 
bless Thee, sweet Jesus in the Blessed Sac- 
rament. May all the angels and saints 
unite with us in praising Thee. May the 
whole court of heaven aid us, increasing the 
fervor of our prayer as we cry out: 

" O Godhead hid, devoutly I adore Thee, 
Who truly art within the form before me; 
To Thee my heart I bow with bended knee, 
As failing quite in contemplating Thee." 




^totntg*0fxt& Keatung; and Eeflecttan 

MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

IN the life of St. Ludwina, who was sick 
for thirty-eight years uninterruptedly, 
we read that, in the beginning of her sick- 
ness, she shrunk from suffering. By a par- 
ticular disposition of God, John Por went to 
see her, and perceiving that she was not 
quite resigned to the will of God, he ex- 
horted her to meditate frequently on the 
sufferings of Jesus Christ, that by the re- 
membrance of His Passion she might gain 
courage to suffer more willingly. She prom- 
ised to do so, and fulfilled her promise, but 
she could not find any relief for her soul. 
Every meditation was disgusting and un- 
pleasant, and she began again to break out 
into her usual complaints. After a while 
her director turned to her and asked her how 
she had succeeded in meditating upon our 



244 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



Lord's Passion, and what profit she had de- 
rived from it. " my Father, ' ' she answered, 
"your counsel was very good indeed, but the 
greatness of my suffering does not allow me 
to find any consolation in meditating on my 
Savior's sorrows. He exhorted her for some 
time to continue this exercise, no matter 
how insipid soever it might be to her; but 
perceiving at last that she drew no fruit 
from it, his zeal suggested another means. 
He gave her Holy Communion, and after- 
wards whispered in her ear: "Till now I 
have exhorted you to the continual remem- 
brance of Christ's sufferings as a remedy for 
your pains, but now let Jesus Christ Him- 
self exhort you." Behold! no sooner had 
she swallowed the Sacred Host than she felt 
such a great love for Jesus, and such an 
ardent desire to become like unto Him in 
His sufferings, that she broke out into sobs 
and sighs, and for two weeks was hardly able 
to stop her tears. From that moment the 
pains and sufferings of her Savior remained 
so deeply impressed upon her mind that she 
thought of them all the time, and thus was 
enabled patiently to suffer for Him who, for 
the love of her, had endured so many and so 
great pains and torments. Comforted by 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 245 



the example of Jesus Christ, she not only- 
praised God and gave thanks to Him for 
all her sufferings, but even vehemently de- 
sired to suffer still more; nay, by meditating 
on the Passion of Jesus Christ, she was so 
much inflamed with love that she used to 
say, "It was not she who suffered, but her 
Lord Jesus Christ who suffered in her." 1 

The venerable Ida of Louvain from her 
tenderest years gave herself entirely to the 
love of Jesus. As she grew older, and never 
sought or desired aught but Jesus, that 
heavenly Bridegroom gave her such a pleni- 
tude of His Presence, that her happiness 
resembled that of the most chosen of His 
saints. She became so united with Him in 
daily communion that she lived altogether 
a supernatural life. The very dumb animals 
obeyed her. She assisted with the deepest 
recollection at the Holy Mysteries; and so 
ardent was her desire that her beloved Lord 
should receive the adoration of His creatures, 
that, seeing her prayers and invitations were 
disregarded by others, she used to call the 
little birds to follow her, and in their stead 
adore the Lord in the Holy Sacrifice of the 

1 Surius: Vita St. Ludwinae, I. c. 14. 



246 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



Mass. And, lo! the doves and the pigeons 
followed her into church, where they would 
remain standing round her until the conclu- 
sion of the Sacred Mysteries, after which 
they all returned whence they came. 1 

One Christmas night, according to a pious 
legend, Walthin, the holy Abbot of Melrose, in 
Scotland, was offering up the Holy Sacrifice 
of the Mass with great piety and devotion. 

When he had pronounced the sacred words 
of consecration he saw in his hands a little 
Boy more beautiful than anyone he had 
ever seen. The Child was immaculately 
white; and with His little hands He was 
fondly caressing him. 

Walthin' s heart was filled with heavenly 
rapture as his eyes were fixed on those of 
Jesus. Yielding to the desire that came into 
his mind, he reverently kissed the Sacred 
Host, while the tears of joy that fell from 
his eyes flowed down his cheeks. 2 

In the writings of St. Thomas of Villanova 
we find the confession of a young Israelite 
convert. The saint, believing that this ex- 
traordinary fact would give additional glory 

1 Ott: Euch., page 233; Heiligen Lexicon, iii. Band. 

2 Les Veilles des adorateurs du S. S. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 247 



to our divine Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, 
published the circumstance after the death 
of his friend, who had communicated it to 
him. The young man when in danger of 
death related the following incident to the 
saint: *y 
"My Father, you are the father, the 
consoler, and the guide of my soul; I have 
requested you to pay me this visit in order 
to disclose to you in return a great secret 
that I have not told anyone. One day I 
was walking with a young Jew of my own 
age, while going to attend to some business 
for my father in a specific locality. On our 
way we discussed the Messiah, whom in 
our vague conception as Israelites we were 
still expecting, and as we talked we experi- 
enced an ardent desire to see Him, saying 
from our heart: 'Ah, how fortunate we 
should be if He would come in our time, 
that we might behold Him with our own 
eyes.' And as we continued our conver- 
sation on this subject our desires became 
more and more inflamed, and we noticed, 
it being already night, a light in the sky so 
brilliant that it seemed to us the heavens 
must be opened. Recollecting that my 
father had once told me that sometimes the 



248 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



sky opened and that on such occasions we 
could ask God some favor with the hope of 
obtaining it, we fell on our knees with all 
possible devotion, asking the Lord to mani- 
fest the Messias in our day and to permit 
to us to see Him whom we so earnestly 
expected. 

" Whilst pouring out our hearts in fervent 
prayer in the sight of the brilliant light 
upon which our eyes remained fixed, we saw 
suddenly quite near us a sparkling chalice 
with a Host above it, of the shape that 
Catholic priests use at Mass. It is needless 
to say that this vision alarmed us exceed- 
ingly. Soon we overcame our fear, how- 
ever, for an interior light penetrated our 
soul, opened the eyes of the mind, and 
banished from it all obscurity. We now 
felt convinced that the glorious Messiah 
whom we so ardently desired was surely in 
the Host, that no other was to be expected, 
and that the Christian religion was the only 
true religion. We returned thanks to God 
for having cured our blindness in so mirac- 
ulous a manner. After my return home I 
availed myself of the first opportunity to 
become a Christian and to receive Baptism. 
Ever since I have faithfully observed, as 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 249 



you know, Father, the laws of God and 
His Church." 1 

St. Nicephorus of Constantinople tells 
us: "Our tabernacle is holier than the Holy 
of Holies, yea, than the ark itself, for it con- 
tains the most sacred and life-giving flesh of 
our Savior." And St. Peter Alcantara con- 
tinues: "The Spouse wished to leave to 
His beloved a companion, that she might 
not be lonely during His long absence. He 
therefore left her Himself in the Holy Sac- 
rament, as the best companion for her." 

"Here in the Holy Sacrament," says 
Lallemant, "he abides day and night as a 
living victim before the eyes of His Father, 
appeasing His anger and satisfying His 
justice, communicating the life of grace and 
the seed of the life of glory to those who 
approach Him worthily." 

Reflection 

Jesus holds inclosed in the Most Holy 
Sacrament all the infinite treasures of grace, 
because He is the Author of all grace, and 
these treasures He shares with us in all their 
fullness. After Baptism and Penance, the 

1 Tabernacle and Purgatory. 



250 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



Holy Eucharist is the real Sacrament of 
Salvation, since it raises our soul to a spiritual 
life, and thus strengthens us on our journey 
to heaven. It therefore provides for us the 
necessary help for salvation. 

Jesus, after having done for us all that 
love could possibly invent, wills that in a 
certain sense His adorable Body should 
daily be born for us, so that we may cease- 
lessly receive new strength and grace. The 
apostle says: "He has made Himself poor 
that we might be rich." Coming to us, He 
dwells with us in reality, working His great- 
est miracles solely to remain with us. There- 
fore, let us make some return to Him for His 
infinite love, let us beseech all God's friends, 
in heaven, on earth, and in purgatory to 
unite their adoration with ours in the sweet 
words: " Blessed be the Most Holy Sacra- 
ment forever." With hearts glowing with 
love, Jesus, let us praise Thee, let us thank 
Thee, let us love Thee more and more and 
forever. 

Jesus, brightness of the Father, Who 
art pleased to descend even to me, grant 
by Thy grace that I may receive Thee in a 
heart well disposed and that I may render 
to Thee, as far as possible, worthy homage 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 



251 



of gratitude and love. Come, adorable 
Host, that Thy presence may sanctify my 
soul, and be my light, my strength, my life. 
Yes, come, my divine Master; and when 
Thou shalt have come, I will say to Thee: 
" Stay with me, and may nothing henceforth 
separate me from Thee." 




Utoenty&tbmib Ifteatunfl; anti l&etlectton 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

MANY miracles have been wrought at 
the famous shrine dedicated to the 
Blessed Virgin at Lourdes, France. Some 
of these miracles have been worked through 
the intercession of our good Mother, others 
through the adoration paid to the Most 
Blessed Sacrament of the altar. In the 
words of His Holiness Pius X: "Lourdes is 
the center of worship to Mary, and at the 
same time, the most glorious throne of the 
Eucharistic Mystery in the entire world." 

The great crowds of devout pilgrims 
crowding about the holy shrine are not 
satisfied with simply telling their beads in 
the grotto; they assist also at the Holy 
Sacrifice of the Mass, and, until midnight, 
prostrate themselves before the Blessed Sac- 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 253 



rament. Thus they offer their homage to 
both our Savior and His Holy Mother. 

Nowhere on earth are there so many 
Masses celebrated or so many processions 
of the Blessed Sacrament. At no other 
spot on earth do the faithful prepare them- 
selves more worthily for the reception of 
the Eucharist or communicate in so great 
numbers. Here in truth is verified the old 
truism: "Through Mary to Jesus," for 
Mary offers to her Son all the honor that 
is paid to her, and thereby wins salvation 
for us. 

In the month of August, 1888, there are 
said to have been fifteen thousand pilgrims 
praying before the grotto day and night, 
but in spite of their great devotion none of 
the sick seemed to be healed; then they 
began to pray in a body with outstretched 
hands, but without success. A holy priest, 
however, conceived the idea of carrying the 
Blessed Sacrament in procession among the 
rows of the sick, a procession in which more 
than five hundred clergymen carried lighted 
tapers. The infirm, stretched on couches, 
raised their hands imploringly to our Lord 
as He passed in His triumphal march. 
Piteous appeals of: " Jesus, if it be Your 



254 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



wish, You can help me," were heard here 
and there. More than one helpless soul 
cried out: "0 Lord, I am not worthy that 
Thou shouldst enter under my roof, but 
speak only one word and make me whole. " 
United by the bonds of charity in their dire 
need, with one voice the assembled multi- 
tude sent up to heaven their pathetic sup- 
plication: "Lord, help us lest we perish. 
Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on us. 
Blessed is the name of the Lord. Hosanna 
to the Son of David. " And lo, Jesus, pass- 
ing by, beheld the suffering of His children, 
for many of the sick arose from their beds 
of pain, and with joyous acclamation joined 
in the procession. During the entire night, 
the priests continued the adoration before 
the Lord exposed on the altar and since that 
occasion the procession is repeated yearly, 
the people making invocations and the sick 
returning home cured. 

In the year 1893, from the twentieth to 
the twenty-seventh day of August, not less 
than twenty-five thousand pilgrims, among 
whom were fifteen hundred priests, were 
present at this shrine. All the clergy took 
part in the procession. The confraternity 
of Perpetual Adoration carried the emblem 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 255 



of the monstrance suspended from their 
necks while the rest of the priests held lighted 
torches. A special train brought more than 
a thousand crippled, who believed with a 
firm faith that they would return to their 
homes cured. These were stationed along 
the road on couches and rolling chairs, 
awaiting the coming of the Lord. It seemed 
as though the old days of Judea and Galilee 
were being repeated, when the expect- 
ant multitude ranged the sick along the 
road-side for the healing touch. On the 
approach of the Sacred Host, borne in a 
monstrance by a Syrian Bishop, the diseased, 
weepingly and with indescribable emotion, 
recited the pathetic petitions mentioned 
above. No sooner had the Bishop raised 
the monstrance and given Benediction than 
a large crowd of the incurables rose from 
their beds, rejoicing. For three successive 
evenings the procession was repeated with 
the same wonderful results. 

Out of the twenty-eight cures pronounced 
as miraculous by the Medical Censor Board, 
we shall cite only the following: 

A fourteen year old boy, by the name of 
Guy, a native of Montpelier, was suffering 
from paralysis of the left hand; the muscles 



256 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



were entirely impaired and without power of 
receiving sensations. At the very moment 
when the Blessed Sacrament passed the boy, 
he felt life returning to the diseased mem- 
ber, and, immediately loosening the bandage, 
was able to use the limb. The hand was 
entirely healed. An eleven year old girl, 
named Leonilda Clement, a resident of 
Orleans, had received her First Communion 
at Lourdes on her sick-bed. From July, 
1892, she had been unable to walk, as she 
was afflicted with tuberculosis of the spine, 
as a result of which an open wound had 
constantly been discharging putrid matter. 
During the procession she arose from her 
bed perfectly cured. 

Anna Schaefer, twenty-eight years old, 
suffering from kidney trouble for seven 
years, also regained her health as Jesus 
passed by. Louise Delhaie was to undergo 
a serious operation on account of liver 
complaint, but she anxiously longed to go 
to Lourdes for her cure. During Bene- 
diction of the Blessed Sacrament she was 
suddenly healed. 

All these miracles surely testify, if we 
need any testimony, the presence of our 
Lord in the Holy Eucharist and the kind 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 257 



intercession of His Mother, the Blessed 
Virgin Mary. Although many of the sick 
were not cured, still that is no reason for 
complaint, as the Blessed Virgin and our 
divine Lord have the perfect right to reserve 
to themselves the bestowal of any grace. 
Sickness and death will always remain with 
us, and those who suffer patiently have more 
merit than those who are in good health. 1 

Saint Alphonsus lived in the year 1787. 
The name alone of this blessed saint brings 
to mind the thought of the Blessed Sacra- 
ment. His life was absorbed in it. It was, 
so to speak, the very life of his soul. No 
saint ever loved Jesus more dearly in the 
Blessed Sacrament, none ever prayed to 
Him with more fervor, none sought Him 
more frequently in His tabernacle; and as 
though he would multiply himself in visits 
to the Most Holy Sacrament, he wrote that 
little golden treatise called " Visits to the 
Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar thereby 
to urge numbers, like himself, to bring their 
love to their Lord and their God dwelling 
therein. 

1 Frieburg Kirchenblatt No. 20, 1882. "Pelican," 1893. 
Histoire et Critique de Lourdes, by Betrimn. 



258 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



Saint Alphonsus gave himself the task of 
spreading the devotion of Corpus Christi, 
and with this object in view, whenever he 
held a mission, he brought to bear the beau- 
tiful custom of a daily visit to the Blessed 
Sacrament. In order to facilitate the public 
adoration of the Most Holy in poor parishes, 
he provided candles at his own expense, and 
by words and example he excited the people 
to zealous adoration. " One thing is certain/ ' 
he wrote, "that, next to Holy Communion, 
no act of worship is so pleasing to God, and 
none is so useful as the daily visit to our 
Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.' ' 

In his extreme old age, when sickness and 
weakness deprived him of the power of 
saying Mass, he endeavored as long as pos- 
sible to compensate for his great privation 
by assisting at it in the church. After he 
had heard Mass and received Holy Com- 
munion in his oratory in the early morning, 
he caused himself to be carried into the 
church and placed on the steps of the altar, 
where he spent many hours in prayer and 
assisted at five or six Masses. 

Fortified with the Bread of Angels, he 
entered sweetly into the joy of his Lord on 
the first of August, 1787. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 259 



Reflection 

All the works of God are wisely done. 
Fulfilling precisely the object for which it 
was created, each work of the divine Hand 
is great and perfect. Being a revelation of 
God Himself, His works are a mirror in 
which His rational creatures may see His 
hidden beauty. 

The Holy Ghost calls the Blessed Sacra- 
ment the remembrance of the wonderful 
works of God. Hence it is the masterpiece 
of the Almighty. In revealing His per- 
fections, it stands alone. The Blessed Sac- 
rament is that unique work by which God 
manifests His divine attributes to us. Why 
do we come to the Holy Hour? Why do 
we celebrate the Forty Hours with such 
predilection if it is not to enliven our devo- 
tion to Jesus in the Sacrament of His love 
and how magnificently does not the Blessed 
Sacrament reveal the divine Goodness? The 
great God of heaven and earth dwells among 
the poor as well as among the rich ; He abides 
in the noisy city as well as in the quiet coun- 
try; He rests as happily in the poorest way- 
side chapel as in the grand cathedral rearing 



260 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



its lofty spires to the skies. And all this for 
love of us. 

The Prisoner of the tabernacle says: "In 
the Holy Eucharist I am light to the blind, 
strength to the weak, health to the sick, and 
life to the dead. I am a heavenly remedy 
for all your spiritual miseries, renewing here 
all the mysteries of My incarnation, My life, 
death and resurrection. I am spiritually 
born in the faithful soul, I live in it, and it 
lives in Me, I suffer with it, and it suffers 
with Me, and unites its sufferings and in- 
tentions with Mine. I die with it, and it 
dies to its sins. Through the participation 
of My immortal Body it arises gloriously 
from the grave of sin. I have come that the 
sinner who is dead may be restored to life, 
and that the just who possess life may have 
it more abundantly, may advance in grace, 
and pass from virtue to virtue." 



1Dnmtg*tiv&t$ Ifteatune; anti l&ttltttion 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

IN the Acts of the Saints by Bollanden 
we read of a certain wealthy Catholic 
who resided near the city of Milan, and who 
constantly gave hospitality to St. Peter of 
Verona during his apostolic missions in that 
section of the country. One evening the 
Reverend Father arrived worn with fatigue. 
This time he found his reception rather 
cold. The host, who ordinarily had been 
so respectful, so attentive, almost closed 
the door on him. He could not fathom the 
reason of this change. In the course of the 
conversation St. Peter learned why his 
friend had acted so unusual. He had be- 
come a Manichean heretic and on that 
account began to reproach his guest as the 
"enemy of truth." "Come," he added, "I 



262 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



shall show you the Blessed Virgin, who will 
say more to you." The saint yielded to 
curiosity and accompanied the heretic to the 
meeting of his followers. A most attractive 
lady appeared on the altar, carrying her 
son in her arms: u My son/' she said, u thou 
art in error, thou seest that the truth is here, 
and not with Catholics. I, the Mother of 
Jesus, I tell you this." 

These words, on a former occasion, had 
influenced the wealthy Catholic to renounce 
his faith and follow the Manichean heresy. 

Saint Peter, very much incensed at this 
imposition, said: "Go tell the man who 
spoke thus to you that I also will become a 
Manichean, if he shows me the Blessed 
Virgin." The host hastened to inform his 
new friend, who gladly accepted the chal- 
lenge. The saint passed the night in prayer. 
Next morning he reserved a consecrated 
Host, which he inclosed in a pyx and placed 
respectfully on his breast. Thus armed, he 
went to the Manichean congregation. He 
who discharged the office of medium made 
the attractive lady appear on the altar, and 
she publicly denounced the newcomer as the 
" enemy of truth." Then Peter, elevating 
the Sacred Host, said to the apparition: 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 263 



"If thou art truly the Mother of God, 
adore thy Son!" At these words the phan- 
tom disappeared in black smoke, leaving the 
hall filled with horrid odor. The devil had 
taken flight at the presence of his Master. 1 

It is well known to all who were acquainted 
with St. Catherine of Sienna that she en- 
tertained profound respect and devotion for 
the Body of our Lord in the Blessed Eu- 
charist. It was publicly rumored that Cath- 
erine communicated every day, and that she 
could live without taking any other nour- 
ishment. Such was the vivacity of her 
desires that, on the days in which she was 
deprived of Holy Communion, her body 
suffered in the same manner as one that 
had undergone a violent malady. Her con- 
fessor used every possible effort to obtain 
the consolation she so much desired; she 
was conscious of this, and when she sighed 
for the Bread of Angels she used to say: 
" Father, I am hungry; for the love of God, 
feed my soul." Therefore the Sovereign 
Pontiff, Gregory XI, by a special Bull, gave 
her permission to have a priest and a port- 
able altar, so that she could, everywhere and 

1 Bolland: torn. Ill, April, p. 701. The Sentinel of 
the Blessed Sacrament, Vol. 20. 



264 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



always, without any permission, hear Mass 
and receive Holy Communion. 

On the festival of St. John the Evangelist, 
when the confessor arrived at Catherine's 
house, the hour of tierce had already passed. 
She turned to him and said: "Oh, Father, 
did you but know how hungry my poor 
soul is!" The priest understood her mean- 
ing, and rejoined: "The hour of saying 
Mass is nearly elapsed, and I am so fatigued 
that it is very difficult for me to prepare my- 
self for it." She remained silent a moment; 
but soon, unable to restrain the expression 
of her desire, she said to the priest again: 
"I am famished." The confessor then con- 
sented to yield to her request, and repaired 
to the chapel in her house to say Mass." 1 

In a forest of Germany, a robber once 
held sway, attacking unwary travellers whose 
ignorance of the locality led them to the spot. 
One day he was making his usual preparations 
for a marauding trip, when he heard in the 
distance the faint tinkling of a little bell. 
He listened and waited. What could it be? 
Soon he saw from his hiding place that it 
announced the approach of a priest carrying 

1 B. Raymond of Capua; Her life. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 265 



the Viaticum to the dying. An acolyte, as 
was the custom of the country, preceded, 
bearing in his hand a lighted taper and pray- 
ing aloud: " Praised and blessed be the Most 
Holy Sacrament." Would he rob this holy 
man? No, his heart was not yet so depraved 
that he had forgotten all the lessons he 
learned at his mother's knees, and he mur- 
mured in wavering syllables the act of 
contrition. 

The priest and acolyte passed on, but the 
robber followed, repeating with the server: 
"Praised and blessed be the most Holy 
Sacrament." He even sought the bedside of 
the sick man, and when the priest had 
finished his ministrations prostrated himself 
before God's minister and, in accents of 
unfeigned sorrow, pronounced the contrite 
words: "0 priest of God, know that I am a 
wicked man and a robber. As you passed 
through the woods I was standing on the 
roadside, ready to make you my victim, 
but the grace of God touched my heart and 
I could not help but be sorry for my sins. 
Through the mercy of that God you serve, 
help me." Then the priest bending over 
the prostrate form of the now penitent thief 
said: " Jesus Christ has not rejected you: 



266 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



neither will I reject you. He came here to 
the woods because you would not go to Him. 
He forgave the thief on the cross, and can 
He hesitate then to forgive you? Come, 
follow me." Together the two directed their 
steps to a nearby monastery, where the 
penitent robber made his peace with God. 
His ill-gotten goods were restored, he began 
to lead a new life, and, till his dying day, 
attributed his conversion to Jesus in the 
Blessed Sacrament. 1 

"0 inconceivable prodigy," exclaims a 
pious author, who seems to have no life, 
thought or sentiment but for the adorable 
Eucharist, "0 miracle of love, to love beyond 
death, to love even to the end of time, to 
love for the sole good of the object beloved, 
to love in spite of a thousand outrages, to 
love so far as to give Himself to be their 
food, to love so as to annihilate Himself, 
reproduce Himself at every instant. . . . 
Behold what He has done for us, He, before 
whom the stars, the sun, empires and the 
heavens are but dust and darkness." 

"That great King," says St. Teresa, "is 

1 Perpetual Adoration, No. 5, 1902. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 267 



concealed under the appearance of bread 
and wine in the Holy Eucharist: He has 
thus veiled His majesty, to give us the 
courage to draw nearer and with more con- 
fidence to His divine Heart!" 

Reflection 

Our faith in the Holy Eucharist must be 
such as to admit not even the slightest 
thought of unbelief. So steadfast must we 
be in our convictions, that we would rather 
lose our lives than our faith. False re- 
ligions have entirely subverted the words of 
our divine Savior, but the Catholic Church 
still holds to them in their entirety. She 
believes exactly what the words signify. 
If the Blessed Sacrament is nothing else 
but bread, and that bread merely a remem- 
brance of Jesus, then it is easy to understand 
there is no mystery whatever connected with 
the Eucharist. But if we grant that God, 
having once loved us, continues to love us 
"to the end," then there must be something 
greater than a fragment of bread left as a 
memorial of Himself. The words of our 
Lord are clear, plain and perfectly com- 
prehensible. Why would we change them 
to suit our own vagaries? In the Holy 



268 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



Eucharist we must firmly believe that we 
possess the Sacred Body of the Lord, some- 
thing that is entirely supernatural, some- 
thing heavenly and holy, — aye, of all things 
the holiest. The living Body of Jesus 
Christ, entire but veiled, is hidden under the 
lifeless form of bread. Surely, then, in the 
Blessed Sacrament the omnipotence of God 
shines forth most gloriously. 

During this Holy Hour let us devoutly 
repeat: "How delicious is the sweetness of 
your heavenly Bread, O Jesus, how admi- 
rable the peace and tranquillity of the soul 
that receives Thee, after having deplored 
and sincerely confessed her offences. Be 
blessed a thousand times, O my Jesus. Eu- 
charistic Heart of Jesus, burning with love 
for us, inflame our hearts with love for 
Thee." 

"Thou wilt receive us; Thou wilt come 
to us and into us. Yes, we hope, O Lord, 
that Thou wilt communicate Thyself to us 
until such time as we shall be able, without 
a veil, and face to face, to see and possess 
Thee in a happy eternity." 



WtttntyMinib Etadms: ana Eeflectton 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

IN the year 1388, a small town in Ba- 
varia was besieged by the Dukes of the 
country and during the siege some of the 
soldiers went to the neighboring village of 
Sulzbach. Entering a church of that vil- 
lage, they broke open the tabernacle and 
carried away with them the ciborium con- 
taining the Blessed Sacrament. One of the 
soldiers concealed the Sacred Host, carrying 
it at one time under his vest, at another in 
his sleeve. He sold the little silk veil that 
covered the sacred vessel to a woman for 
a small sum of money, and this he spent in 
sinful pleasures. Suddenly, however, the 
sinful man lost the power of his limbs and, 
trembling with fright, crawled into a thicket 
behind a rock, (where the high altar erected 



270 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



to perpetuate the event now stands), and 
buried the Sacred Host. Then he dragged 
himself to the camp and on his way met the 
woman to whom he had sold the veil. He 
asked her what she had done with it, where- 
upon she told him that she had given it to 
the officers for safe-keeping. The culprit 
then disclosed to her his sacrilegious deed 
for which God so severely punished him. 
Overcome with fear, the woman immedi- 
ately betook herself to the Franciscan Father 
who was chaplain of the regiment and made 
known to him the soldier's evil deed. 

The priest, wishing to know where the 
consecrated particle had been hidden, at 
once ordered some of the soldiers to bear 
the impious man to the spot, since the latter 
was unable to go without support on ac- 
count of the punishment God had meted 
out to him. But the search was without 
avail ; the offender was not worthy to desig- 
nate the spot where rested the Sacred Host. 
Another search, in which many of the promi- 
nent citizens took part, was instituted, and 
it resulted in the finding of the ciborium in 
a deep hole. The court-chaplain, Albrecht, 
accompanied by many pious people, bore the 
Sacred Host to the nearest church at Woerth. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 271 



But what became of the unhappy soldier? 
God's visitation was upon him and he died 
soon after in terrible convulsions, while his 
two companions, who were accessory to his 
sin, also met with a sudden death, the 
one being drowned in the river Danube, 
the other killed in a private brawl. When 
the news of this sacrilegious deed and its 
dreaded punishment spread throughout the 
country, a frame hut was erected to mark 
the spot sanctified by the Holy Eucharist. 
Later on, in 1389, when peace had been re- 
stored, a chapel, dedicated to St. Salvador, 
was built on the site. Here many miracles 
were wrought and many favors granted. 

The renown of the little place continued to 
grow until the Reformation, and even that 
period of havoc did not entirely destroy 
devotion in it. At the present day there 
are two pilgrimages held there; on these 
occasions thousands of pilgrims visit the 
chapel and study the mural paintings per- 
petuating the account of the robbers and 
the punishment of the profaners. 1 

Towards the close of the sixteenth cen- 
tury there lived in Naples a certain noble- 

1 "Pelican," No. 12, 1894. 



272 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



man — Horatio Grannopoli by name — who 
made it his constant care to promote the 
adoration of the Most Holy Sacrament. He 
devoted a portion of his patrimony to the 
erection of beautiful altars and the adorn- 
ment of the tabernacle. He did not disdain 
to beg from door to door in order to collect 
a sufficient amount of capital, the interest 
of which should furnish all poor churches 
with fitting ornaments and wax candles. 
Disregarding his high birth, and with the 
honor and glory of God only in view, he 
traversed the whole city. Great person- 
ages, bankers, captains, were visited by 
him, and his first words invariably were: 
"Praised be the Most Holy Sacrament." 
He then asked for an alms for the altars of 
the Lord in His poor churches. 

One morning he observed a well-dressed 
man who was a stranger to him, pass out 
from a neighboring palace. At once he 
accosted him, and begged an alms in the name 
of the Blessed Sacrament. The gentleman 
replied with a derisive smile: "Thou hast 
surely mistaken me for some other person. 
I am an Englishman, and my name Thomas 
Acton; my religion is not like thine, and I 
will take good care that no alms of mine 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 273 



shall be used for the worship of a piece 
of bread.' ' Filled with compassion, Gran- 
nopoli bowed courteously to the Englishman 
and moved away; but the latter, calling him 
back, begged that he would not be pained 
by his reply, assuring him that the beauty of 
the processions fill him with admiration, but 
that it was quite impossible for him to be- 
lieve that God could be present in a Host. 
He then presented him with a purse con- 
taining fifteen golden crowns, with the in- 
junction that it should not be employed in 
the glorification of the Blessed Sacrament, 
but in supplying his own necessities. 

A year had passed when Thomas Acton 
was taken ill of a fever, which brought him 
nigh to death's door. One morning this news 
reached the ears of Grannopoli as he was 
accompanying the Blessed Sacrament to the 
sick. He at once sought the parish priest 
of St. Joseph, in whose parish the sick Eng- 
lishman dwelt, and besought him for the 
love of God to undertake the conversion of 
this poor heretic. The priest first took 
counsel of the archbishop, who commanded 
him to use every means in his power to draw 
Thomas Acton into the Catholic Church. 
The first attempts were very discouraging 



274 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



and the good priest left the bedside of the 
patient quite hopeless. 

In the meantime the dying man became 
daily weaker, and his death drew visibly 
nearer, all those around him thought him 
dead till one day he fell into a swoon, and 
for many hours gave no signs of life. The 
sick man rallied and, sending for the priest, 
on his entrance at once addressed him, say- 
ing: "My good Father, I am resolved to 
follow your advice and become a Catholic." 
Surprised and overjoyed at this marvelous 
change, the servant of God at once ques- 
tioned the newly made convert about religion 
and the principal Mysteries of the Faith; 
and, finding him sufficiently instructed, re- 
ceived him into the Catholic Church. He 
begged for Holy Communion, saying, "I 
believe with my whole heart in the Real 
Presence of Jesus in the Most Holy Sacra- 
ment, and I regret that I have so long 
rejected this belief." Then, with deep de- 
votion and lively faith he received Holy 
Communion. 

The sick man told the priest that while he 
had been in the swoon he distinctly heard 
a voice saying, "If thou wouldst enjoy true 
happiness, thou must return to the Catholic 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 275 



Church/' "I resolved, and I promised God 
at once to become a Catholic. " 

So spake the dying Thomas Acton, his 
words being often interrupted by acts of 
contrition, desire for heaven, and the love 
of God. In these pious dispositions he died. 1 

Reflection 

If we fail to acquire solid virtue by the 
reception of the adorable Eucharist, it is all 
our own fault. In that case tepidity must 
be at the bottom of our preparation. It is 
all-important that we understand the press- 
ing motives which urge us to communicate 
with fervor. It is the Body of our Savior 
that we are about to receive, — that Body 
that was born of the most pure Virgin 
Mary, that was scourged, crowned with 
thorns, and finally nailed to the cross. And 
not only that, but in the Holy Eucharist the 
adorable soul of Jesus Christ is present in 
all the perfection of its virtues, hypostati- 
cally united with the Blessed Trinity. Jesus 
Christ, the Lord of Lords, the Savior of the 
world, the Judge of the living and the dead, 

1 Les Merveilles divines, lii., Jos. Soli menus de 
comitat Eucharist, 1. 2, c. vi. 



276 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



is there present, — He at whose name every 
knee shall bow in heaven, on earth, and 
under the earth. 

"When My friend Lazarus was dead," 
thus speaks Jesus from His Prison of love, 
"I shed tears of love at his tomb; and many 
of the Jews who saw me cried out: ' Be- 
hold, how He loved him.' Oh, if the Jews 
could perceive My love for thee in the 
Eucharist, how would they not be affected? 
I have poured out for thee not a few tears, 
but every drop of My Precious Blood. I 
administered My Body and Blood to the 
unhappy disciple who had conspired to be- 
tray both. While I was offering the sacri- 
fice of my life, I prayed that My murderers 
might partake of its merits. Every day the 
Sacrifice is renewed, and I am offered up as 
a victim of propitiation for the sins of my 
enemies. When such are My dispositions 
in the Eucharist to those who hate me, how 
great must not be My love to those who 
love Me." 

During this Holy Hour let us unite in 
saying: "0 Sacrament of Love, whether 
Thou givest Thyself in Holy Communion 
or remainest on our altars, Thou drawest 
towards Thee with Thine divine attraction 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 277 



all those hearts which enamored of Thy love 
burn for Thee and ever think of Thee." I 
will, therefore, dear Jesus, henceforth dis- 
pose myself for a worthy Communion by 
detachment from sin and the occasions of 
it, and by interior acts of those virtues which 
I ought to exercise before, during, and after 
Holy Communion. I will spare no pains to 
profit by my intimate union with You, en- 
deavoring to watch over myself, to avoid 
all wilful faults, to do all with a will to 
please you, to be faithful in my religious ex- 
ercises and courageous in restraining and 
conquering myself, for these are the real 
fruits of a good Communion. "I will love 
Thee, O Lord, my strength." Ps. xvii. 2. 



HWtitib Eeatung aim Eeflectton 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 



_t\_ Francis Solano was continually found 
in deep contemplation and prayer before the 
Blessed Sacrament. He communicated fre- 
quently and with the deepest devotion, so 
that his example became contagious, and he 
drew the hearts of many pious youths to 
the love of a similar devotion. He could 
not offer the Holy Sacrifice without shedding 
abundant tears. His brethren of the Order 
strove among themselves as to which of 
them should serve his Mass, and each 
thought himself happy who might do so. 
The President of the Royal Council of the 
Indies and Vice-King, De Valesco, frequently 
served the saint at the altar, in order that 




Legenda 
example of the saints, St. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 279 



he might have the happiness of being near 
him and to be strengthened by his heavenly- 
devotion. 

It, repeatedly happened that this holy 
servant of God was so wrapt in God during 
the holy offering of the Mass that he would 
break forth into singing the praises of our 
Lord Jesus Christ and of His Blessed Mother, 
causing the pious Prince de Valesco to weep 
for devotion. 

Now because of his childlike obedience to 
God, and that his spirit had obtained a per- 
fect dominion over his flesh, Nature herself 
obeyed him, and he ruled over her in such a 
manner that the wildest beasts harkened to 
his will. At his call came the birds and 
sang with him the praises of God, and dur- 
ing the sickness preceding his death, which 
took place on the 14th July, 1610, they were 
always gathered near him singing the sweet- 
est songs. Some days before his departure 
the Saint gave witness, after a strange man- 
ner, to the extraordinary love for Jesus in 
the Blessed Sacrament. The feast of Corpus 
Christi drew nigh. On this day the saint 
was always full of holy joy. On the night 
prior to this feast, while the servant of God 
lay in great pain upon his poor little bed, his 



280 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



confessor, Father Francis de Mendoza, de- 
sired to visit him. On opening the door of 
his cell he heard the saint singing in a loud 
voice. He was singing the Invitatorium of 
the Breviary, Venite adoremus, et procidamus 
ante Deum, and whilst so singing his hands 
were reaching forth towards the corner of the 
cell, where the tabernacle was situated; it 
seemed as though he saw there the Divine 
Majesty in bodily form. 1 

St. John of the Cross, who lived about the 
year 1591, took the vows of the priesthood 
under obedience; but who dares describe 
the holy devotion with which he prepared 
himself to celebrate his first Mass? Before 
the awful words of consecration he paused, 
and with earnestness prayed for the grace to 
spend life without mortal sin, and also that 
of doing perfect penance for all that was 
past. When he raised the Most Holy Host 
after consecration, he heard in the depth of 
his soul a voice which said, "I grant thee 
what thou desirest of Me." Upon this his 
heart rose full of thankful love towards his 
God and Master; and so great was the 
sense of his union with Christ for a length 
of time he sought complete solitude, in which 

1 Acta S. S. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 281 



he entertained a desire to become a Carthu- 
sian and thus entirely to die to the world. 

His great delight was meditating before 
the Most Holy. Did any one come to him 
on business when thus engaged, he would 
say, " Leave me alone; here is my blessed- 
ness and my rest." The most wonderful 
graces were imparted to him there. Once a 
nun saw him through the trellis of the choir 
extended before the Most Holy, and his face 
glowing with joy. It came into her heart 
to ask the reason of his joy; and he without 
hesitation, but in the transport of his soul, 
replied: " Shall I not be full of joy, seeing 
that I have adored and seen my Lord? O 
my daughter, what a good God we have! O 
how good He is." 

Always wrapt in God, he said Holy Mass. 
Once, at the request of a nun, he said a 
votive Mass of the Most Holy Trinity. At 
the consecration he was allowed to see a 
glimpse of this astonishing mystery. ' c 0, how 
I thank thee, daughter," said he afterwards, 
"for giving me an occasion to say the Mass 
of the Most Holy Trinity! what splendor, 
what great good we shall enjoy in the Beatific 
Vision!" So speaking he fell into an ecstasy 
which lasted half an hour. But in order 



282 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



to hide this extraordinary favor, he said 
afterwards, "Did you not perceive what a 
sound sleep took possession of me?" 

On one occasion a student saw him at the 
conclusion of Holy Mass entirely radiated 
with light, so that he was dazzled thereby. 
This appearance made such an impression 
on the young man that he quitted the world 
and entered into the Order of St. Dominic. 

It happened once, when he was sojourning 
in the lonely little convent of Pennuela, that 
a lay brother kindled a fire in a stubble- 
field near the monastery. On a sudden the 
wind changed, and the flames bore down in 
the direction of the building. Finding it 
impossible to divert the flames or to save 
the building, he rushed frantically to warn 
the brethren, who, seeing the hopelessness of 
the case, gave themselves up to tears and 
lamentations. John, however, hurried to the 
spot, and perceiving that the fire had al- 
ready attained the place where the wood and 
hay were stored, he called to the brethren, 
and with a voice full of ardent faith, "My 
brothers," said he, "let us go to the Most 
Holy Sacrament. It will help us." All ac- 
companied him to the church, whence, after 
offering a fervent prayer, he returned forti- 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 283 



fied with holy water. He then sprinkled the 
place, kneeling between the fire and the build- 
ing. Unmoved he continued to pray until 
the flames turned back; and when the smoke 
was cleared away the monks perceived their 
brother lost in contemplation and prayer. 
When danger was over John returned to his 
brethren without the smallest injury. At 
once they returned to the church and thanked 
God for their miraculous preservations. 1 

It is related that while Bishop Durier was 
visiting part of his diocese he met in British 
Columbia a sweet little girl of nine years, 
who repeatedly asked him to admit her 
to Holy Communion. The prelate always 
postponed it. After having received so many 
rebuffs, she determined to u tell our Lord" 
on the Bishop. Kneeling down before the 
altar she began in childish accents: "Dear 
Jesus, my own dear Lord, our Bishop tells me 
that I do not know You, but listen: You are 
the Son of God, who came down from heaven 
and was born in Bethlehem. You rested in 
the arms of Your Holy Mother. You lived 
at Nazareth. You were lost, but Mary found 
You in the temple. You gathered twelve 

1 Lives of the Saints. Butler. 



284 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



Apostles around You. You died on the 
cross and the third day You arose again 
from the dead. Surely now, dear Lord, I 
know You and all about You. Please tell 
the Bishop that I know You very w T ell." 
But a well-known figure down the dimly- 
lighted aisle had heard the heartfelt prayer, 
and a strange mist encircled his kindly eyes, 
as the little one tripped out of the church, 
confident that at least Jesus had listened 
kindly to her petition. Not many months 
after, the dear child spent "the happiest 
day of her life," — the day of her First 
Holy Communion. "I am in Paradise," 
she exclaimed, little realizing that even such 
joy is only the merest foretaste of the Land 
of the Blessed. 

"Ah, Christians," exclaims St. Chrysos- 
tom, "why these useless wishes? In the 
Eucharist, have you not the same Jesus 
Christ? Does He not renew each day the 
same love, the same tenderness? Oh, if 
I only had the happiness to see Him, to 
touch the hem of His garment! You see 
Him, You touch Him; do not then envy 
anything of Magdalen, of Martha, the 
Apostles, Joseph or Mary. How happy is 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 285 



the Christian nation ! A God comes to them 
to fill them with delights. I am not sur- 
prised that all the saints, that all Christian 
souls, should approach with such avidity to 
this ineffable Sacrament." 

Reflection 

Jesus Christ dwells in the Eucharist, not 
attired in royal magnificence but veiled 
under the appearances of bread, to be given 
as ordinary food to man. He subjects Him- 
self to a condition that would deprive Him 
of life were He not immortal. Are we not 
astonished to think that only five words 
pronounced by a priest, though he may be 
a sinful man, suffice to reduce Him, the 
great Lord of heaven, to such apparent in- 
competence? Every time and every place 
the priest of God utters these words in 
accordance with the regulation of the 
Church, Jesus Christ obeys the call. Thus, 
totally deprived of His heavenly splendor, 
He remains under the Sacred Species until 
they are consumed. There the great Lord 
of heaven and earth lies helpless and ex- 
posed to the injuries and sacrilegious out- 
rages of Jews, heretics, infidels, and bad 
Christians. 



286 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



my God, how overwhelming is Thy 
goodness in having instituted this Sacra- 
ment for me. Thou, Lord Jesus, art con- 
tent to come down from heaven to place 
Thyself within the consecrated Host, and to 
dwell within the tabernacle in order to exer- 
cise continuously Thy love towards me, and 
to shower graces upon me, undeserving as 
I am. 

"0 Jesus, let me know myself, let me know Thee, 
And desire nothing else but Thee. 
Let me hate myself and love Thee, 
And do all things for sake of Thee." 



%WtMw&t Keatitnff anti Inflection 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

A GERMAN edition of the Sacred Heart 
Messenger, published in the year 1881, 
makes mention of the following remarkable 
incident. The scene of the occurrence was 
at Albany, New York, and it bases its claim 
to authenticity on the fact that the Ven- 
erable Madam Jones, Superioress of the 
Sacred Heart Convent, narrated the event 
to the Messenger. 

It happened that in that summer, so the 
record runs, a priest was summoned to the 
bedside of a sick person living at a great 
distance from the city. As is usually the 
case, he took the Blessed Sacrament with 
him lest there should be immediate danger 
of death. After riding for several hours 



288 READINGS AXD REFLECTIONS 



the good Father found that it would be 
impossible to pursue his journey further, 
the roads having been rendered impassable 
by the ravages of a recent storm. The 
traveler was forced to put up at a wayside 
hotel. Strange to say, a messenger from 
the bedside of the sick man had stopped 
at the same place, and, on meeting the 
minister of God, told him the invalid had 
rallied a little. Relieved from anxiety by the 
information, the holy man considered that, 
as the night was already far advanced, it 
would be better for him to remain there 
until morning. Accordingly, he sought re- 
pose, but before doing so carefully placed 
the pyx containing the Blessed Sacrament 
in one of the drawers of the bureau of his 
room. 

The ensuing dawn beheld a refreshed 
world. As the storm had completely sub- 
sided, the good priest renewed his journey. 
Scarcely, however, had he ridden three 
miles from the place, when he recollected 
that the pyx containing the Blessed Sacra- 
ment had entirely escaped his mind. 
Troubled at heart he immediately turned 
his horse, and spurred the animal to its 
utmost speed. Having arrived at the hos- 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 289 



telry, he hastily inquired from the landlord 
whether anyone had occupied the room 
in which he had slept the night before, 
but, to his utter wonderment, he received 
the answer: "Why, Reverend Sir, we 
cannot even open the door, although the 
key is on the outside, and further, when 
we looked through the keyhole, we saw 
a bright light illuminating the room." 
Then the good priest understood the 
marvel. Followed by the landlady 
and her children, he ascended the stairs, 
and before them all, without the slight- 
est effort, opened the door that had 
resisted all their energies. Then entering 
the room he fell on his knees before the 
tabernacle of the Most High. 

After securing the pyx, the holy man 
spoke with words of unction and inspiration 
to those who were present. He reminded 
the innkeeper of the signal blessing with 
which God had visited his house and pointed 
out to him that it was his duty to return 
thanks to the Almighty for manifesting His 
glory in his humble home. As a conse- 
quence of the miracle, the landlord and all 
his family became members of the Catholic 
Church. 



290 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



The superioress of the Sacred Heart Con- 
vent received from the priest's own lips, 
the statement of the wonderful occurrence. 1 

After the Johnstown flood at Johnstown, 
Pa., the Associated Press gave to the world 
the following account : 

"The Johnstown Flood occurred May 31, 
1889, by the bursting of a huge reservoir, 
thus completely destroying the town, and 
engulfing in its waters no less than sixty 
thousand people. In its sad passage the 
water descended about two hundred and 
fifty feet with a velocity of nearly fifty miles 
an hour, and, as it swept on its course, lordly 
trees of the forest that had withstood storms 
and tempests for well-nigh fifty years were 
cut down like stalks of mullein. Immense 
edifices swayed and tottered and finally 
succumbed to the onrush of the flood. 
Throughout the vast extent covered by the 
work of destruction, one building alone 
remained partially intact — a Convent of 
the Sisters of Divine Providence. 

" Having received the intelligence of the 

1 Messenger of the Sacred Heart, No. 7, 1881- 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 291 



terrible disaster befalling their town, the 
good Sisters immediately betook themselves 
before the tabernacle; they invoked God's 
mercy and compassion on the unfortunate 
victims of the disaster. What was the 
answer to their fervent supplications? They 
were saved. The lower part of the Con- 
vent, it is true, was completely destroyed, 
yet, amid all the ruin around, the building 
remained standing on a few upright beams. 1 

"0 holy martyrs, generous brothers," 
exclaims a preacher of our day, "you who 
have preceded us in the combat, and who 
await us in glory, tell us where you went to 
draw that charity which made you live and 
die for your God. And, in the days of per- 
secution, where did you go each morning to 
prepare for the sacrifice? Before the sun 
shed its light over Rome, the amphitheatre, 
the executioners, and the victims, you were 
seen hurriedly quitting your dwellings. One 
might have thought you were going to your 
death, but the satellites were not yet there. 
You went to the extremity of the city, to 
seek an unknown temple, where you might 

1 New York World, June 2, 1889. 



292 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



pray to God, and learn from Him how to die." 

" Jesus Christ, hidden in the catacombs, 
and constrained," as Bossuet says, "to seek 
other veils and other darkness than the 
veils and mystical darkness with which He 
covers Himself in the Eucharist, called you 
to His table, and not one among you failed 
to answer His call. There in the dark was 
raised the altar of Him who made the sun; 
a priest, bearing the marks of the tortures 
he had endured, offered in sacrifice the 
Victim of the world, and you, victims de- 
signed for the tyrant's sword, you came to 
offer yourselves with it, and to learn, in 
receiving your God, to give your lives, as 
He had given His. Go, now, the sacrifice 
is over; return to the light of day, and to 
your dwellings, where, perhaps, the execu- 
tioners are awaiting you. What matter? 
You have received your God. Fear nothing, 
He Himself will support you in the dungeon 
and at the stake. He will fight for you 
against the fury of the wild beasts and the 
rage of men; and if you fall in the arena, 
He will crown you." 

"■All courage, all strength, all charity, all 
consolation, all life, all happiness is given to 
us in the Holy Communion. The hour that 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 293 



we spend in the morning at the foot of the 
altar — that heavenly moment, when the 
Bread of Angels is given to us — gives us 
strength for the whole day; and when we 
can only commune by desire, the days on 
which we are deprived of this angelic Food 
seem to us, it is true, hard to bear; but the 
simple desire in itself sustains, fortifies and 
encourages us. Yes, the Blessed Sacrament 
of itself would make us able to bear much 
more, for it is there that we find the sacred 
fire that consumed the martyrs, and which 
can make lions of weak men." 

Reflection 

In the Holy Eucharist the omnipotent 
God, who stands in need of nobody, conceals 
Himself under a mystic veil, not for His 
own interests, but for ours. He is there 
to prove His love for us and to beg for ours 
in return. Oh, what a depth of mercy is 
this, that God, the almighty God of heaven 
and earth, should deem our poor frail love 
so precious as to want it for Himself. Thus 
would He make us participators in His 
kingdom. Thus would He manifest to the 
entire universe that He delights to be with 
the children of men. Withdrawing into the 



294 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



sacred obscurity of the tabernacle, He re- 
mains there ever ready to hear the sighs of 
the afflicted, to be the protection of the 
unfortunate, the support of the tempted 
soul, the Physician of the sick, and the 
bounteous benefactor of all who seek His 
mercy. And to do all this, He withholds 
the dazzling splendor of His glory, con- 
cealing the magnitude of His power, lest we 
should fear to approach Him. Can we hesi- 
tate then to believe that He will be our 
viaticum when dying? Not content with 
having given up His life once for His sheep, 
this good shepherd goes still farther: He 
leaves that life with us that we may actually 
live by the reception of His sacred flesh and 
blood. And yet, though we believe all this, 
we waste our time in disgraceful tepidity. 
There is no whole-hearted love for God in 
our work or we should not be so careless 
and indifferent. We believe all this, yet we 
make no return, save the blackest ingrati- 
tude, for God's matchless tenderness. We 
know and believe, O great God, that Thou 
art present on our altars, yet, culpable as 
we are, we sin in every possible way against 
the honor that is due Thee. Angels and 
archangels tremble in Thy presence, princes 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 295 



of the celestial court bow down in reverential 
awe, and we alone, poor children of men, 
dare to appear before Thy majesty in an 
unbecoming posture. Nay, more, Thou in- 
vitest us to Thy adorable banquet, but we, 
desirous only of perishable food, refuse to 
partake of the Bread of Angels. 

O Lord, change our hard, unrepentant 
hearts. Imbue them with Thy love so that, 
united to Thee, we may rest in Thy com- 
panionship for all eternity. 

"0 King of angels, who can tell Thy 
worth? The angels around Thy tabernacle 
know how far too short eternity will prove 
to exhaust the wonders of Thy Sacrament 
of Love." 



TOtt^feeconli Ifteatung; anti Inflection 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

ONE of the most remarkable cures ever 
effected through the devotion to the 
Blessed Sacrament took place in the city 
of Metz, Germany, in the year 1865. 

In that year a thirteen year old girl, by 
name of Anna Clery, was an inmate of the 
Sacred Heart Convent there. Her father 
was an attorney-general in Algiers, but the 
warm climate of that country not agreeing 
with her mother's health, the young girl 
prayed that she might suffer in her stead, 
and her prayer was granted. On Holy 
Thursday, 1858, the young girl was obliged 
because of sickness to leave school and re- 
turn to her mother. From this time on, 
she was practically paralyzed, for it was 
only with the greatest difficulty that she 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 297 



was able to walk at all. Even eating be- 
came a burden to her, so much so, that 
after meals she often swooned away. On 
Whit Sunday she communicated, but as 
soon as she received the Blessed Sacrament, 
she fainted. As time went on, her condi- 
tion became much worse, and nine years of 
intense suffering was her share of our Blessed 
Lord's cross. 

Her family physician recommending a 
change of air, the sick child was sent to 
Clappevilie, where her grandparents resided. 
Frequently recurring spells of fever, however, 
left her speechless and stiffened her limbs 
until she could not even hold her head erect. 
Her relatives and acquaintances were as- 
tonished that she could still subsist. Cold 
baths, injections of strychnine, and red-hot 
irons were applied, but so fatiguing was 
the treatment to the child that the mother 
forbade any further applications. In the 
spring of 1859 she was taken to the cele- 
brated baths of Saxony, but to no avail, 
and when she was even brought to Paris, 
a recognized medical authority there pro- 
nounced her incurable. This constant jour- 
neying from place to place increased the 
child's sufferings to a great extent. In 



298 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



1859 her feet began to curve backward and 
to become atrophic. The muscles con- 
tracted and a large growth formed beneath 
the knee, a growth which a physical culture 
specialist pronounced so hardened that fur- 
ther treatment was useless. 

Her good mother, at the advice of an emi- 
nent physician, abandoned the hope of an 
entire cure and now devoted herself only 
to the alleviation of her daughter's pains. 
Being scarcely able to digest any food, the 
poor child became more and more emaciated. 
Most excruciating headaches two or three 
times a week added to her sufferings, while 
her nerves were at such a high tension 
that she would scream at the least move. 
But though human remedies seemed of no 
avail, God's mercy and power never forsake 
those who confidingly trust in Him. 

Amid all her trials, Anna was always 
resigned to God's holy will. She ascribed 
her perseverance and steadfastness in bear- 
ing her heavy cross to prayer, while, among 
all her devotions, she chose that of the Holy 
Eucharist as her favorite. Every week for 
many years she received Holy Communion 
from the hands of the priest, and on these 
days she always seemed most cheerful and 



I 

FOR THE HOLY HOUR 299 



happy. Her greatest pleasure was to make 
artificial flowers for the altar; flowers which 
she asked the pastor to place as near as 

j possible to God's tabernacle. "I feel such 
exceeding comfort during this work," she 

i said, "and very often the thought recurs to 

I me that I shall be cured through the Blessed 
Sacrament." 

It happened that Perpetual Adoration 

| was instituted in her parish church on the 
12th, 13th, and 14th of June, 1865. On 
account of being confined to her bed, Anna 

I was unable to go to church on the first two 
days of the adoration, but on the third day, 
in spite of her weak and infirm condition, 
she insisted on being brought there that she 
might adore the Lord. Wednesday morning, 
June 14th, she received Holy Communion 
despite her sickness. In the afternoon, 
her nurse carried her to church in her 
arms like a little infant. The poor girl was 
by this time twenty-one years old. Anna's 
mother, accompanied by the nurse with the 
girl in her lap, knelt in the back of the 
church that Anna might behold the figure 
of our Lord as He passed them in proces- 
sion. All were wrapped in profound devo- 
tion, quite ignorant of the great event that 



300 READINGS AXD REFLECTIONS 



was soon to happen. The girl herself 
seemed to be more devout than any. As 
our divine Lord passed her in the mon- 
strance, she passed a pitiful glance toward 
Him and, in heartrending accents cried: 
"0 Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make 
me whole. " Hardfy had she finished her 
ejaculatory prayer when a piercing pain 
shot through her limbs, so that it took all 
her strength to suppress a cry of anguish. 
With an effort, the girl managed to get down 
on her knees as she whispered to her mother 
and her nurse: "Pray, pray, I am getting 
well. 77 Entirely overcome at the sudden 
change, Mrs. Clery led her daughter from 
the church into the garden. There to con- 
vince herself, she examined the limb and 
found to her amazement that the hard 
growth at the knee had entirely disappeared. 

Yes, Anna was cured. And God has done 
His work well, for the cure was perfect. 
Not onfy the paralysis had left her, but all 
her weakness had also gone. From that 
time she became stronger day by daj T . 
When Anna was convalescing, she deter- 
mined that her first visit would be to the 
House of God, and so it was. On Sunday 
within the Octave of Corpus Christi, she 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 301 



took part in the procession, walking for two 
hours with the other young ladies, without 
experiencing the slightest fatigue. The 
news of this wonderful cure spread far and 
wide. Those who visited Anna in her sick- 
ness now left her side rejoicing, praising and 
thanking God. The doctor, after his first 
meeting with the girl, expressed himself 
thus: "God is more powerful than man." 

The pastor of the church of St. Martin 
in Metz, where the wonder occurred, hands 
down the following statement: " Since the 
memorable day of the fourteenth of June, 
1865, Anna Clery has not experienced the 
least inconvenience from her former ail- 
ments. She is able to take any kind of 
food, can walk, or ride by train or car, and 
in fact can do anything that healthy people 
are accustomed to do. Her headaches are 
a thing of the past, while the reddish streak 
about her eyelids has completely disap- 
peared. Without any support whatever, she 
is now able to carry her head erect, and her 
limbs are strong and steady. No sooner did 
her cure take place than she could wait on 
herself, a thing it was impossible for her to 
do before that, and laughingly she said: 
'The good Lord told the paralytic in the 
gospel to take up his bed and walk. He has 



302 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



done more for me: He has given me strength 
sufficient to make my own bed.'" 

The Bishop of Metz published the fol- 
lowing letter: " Having considered the fore- 
going narrative to be as edifying as we know 
it to be strictly conformable to truth, we 
have approved of its publication. It is 
scarcely possible to imagine anything more 
likely to awaken in the hearts of the Chris- 
tians earnest sentiments of faith, trust, and 
love of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Blessed 
Sacrament of the altar, and to increase 
among us devotion to the institution of the 
Perpetual Adoration, than this simple re- 
cital of what took place in the church of 
St. Martin during the religious services of 
that time. It would seem as if our Blessed 
Lord had wished to show by a signal favor 
how acceptable is this homage to His divine 
heart, and that He has chosen for that token 
the sudden and miraculous cure of a young 
girl whose faith had led her to fall at His 
feet, to cry out with lively faith and humble 
confidence: 'Lord, if Thou wilt Thou canst 
make me whole!' 

"PAUL 

At Metz, 8th September, 1865. ofM ^> * 

1 Kath. Missionsblatt, No. 24, 1884. Letters of the 
Pastor, June 14, 1866. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 303 



Reflection 

St. Chrysostom says: "Let us always 
believe God; neither must we resist Him, 
although what we say might appear absurd 
to our senses and thoughts. Let His words' 
surpass our sense or reason, particularly in 
everything which we do in the mysteries; 
not only looking at the things which lie 
before us, but also adhering to His words, 
for by His words we cannot be deceived, but 
our senses are easily deceived. The former 
cannot be false; the latter are frequently 
so, and are frequently deceived. Therefore 
since He has said, 'This is my Body/ let no 
doubt possess you; but let us believe it, 
and behold it with the eyes of our under- 
standing. He was not satisfied being made 
man; with being scourged, etc., but He has 
reduced us, if I may use the expression, into 
one mass with Himself, and this not by 
faith only, but in very truth He makes us 
His own body. What, therefore, should be 
cleaner than he who partakes of such a 
sacrifice? What solar rays ought not those 
hands exceed in brightness, which divide 
this flesh, that mouth which is filled with 



304 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



spiritual fire, that tongue which is purpled 
with this tremendous blood?" 

St. Augustine teaches that God who can 
do all that He wills in heaven and on earth 
and can create a thousand worlds more 
beautiful, more admirable than this uni- 
verse, cannot, however, give us a greater 
gift than that of the Holy Eucharist. "His 
wisdom," says he, "has found nothing more 
precious than this and despite His infinite 
riches, this is the first of all His treasures 
and the one which in itself contains all." 

"Heart of Jesus, inflamed with love of us, inflame our 

hearts with love for Thee." 
" Heart of Jesus in the Eucharist, sweet companion of our 

exile, I adore Thee." 



TOrt^TOtti Eeatung and Inflection 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

ALMOST parallel with the case of Miss 
Clery of Metz, the account of which 
was edited from Miss Fullerton in England, 
there happened a similar miracle in one of 
the convents in London. Although the latter 
is not as prominent as the one above men- 
tioned, yet it has been substantiated and 
attested by witnesses. A letter dated the 
tenth of January, 1866, and written by an 
abbess of the Poor Clares to Father Galway, 
a member of the Jesuit Order, and approved 
by the archbishop of Westminster, gives the 
following account of the miracle. 

" Reverend Father: It gives me great 
pleasure to relate and to publish a miracle 
I which our divine Lord was pleased to work 



306 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



in our convent on the anniversary night of 
His birth. 

"We have in our community a member 
who bears the name of Rose. For the past 
nine months she had been so paralyzed in 
her limbs that she was completely helpless. 
By her own will power she could not make 
the slighest movement, but had to be as- 
sisted from place to place in a rolling chair. 
Importuned by her entreaties, the doctor had 
at last permitted the poor Sister the use of 
crutches. Nor was paralysis the only afflic- 
tion to which she was subject. For ten 
months she had hardly taken any food. 
At times she was so weak that for days she 
could scarcely speak. Daily she seemed to 
grow more emaciated before our eyes. 

"Her physicians were powerless, yet they 
were unable to alleviate her sufferings. 
Two days before the feast of Christmas, 
our invalid was in a weaker condition than 
ever before. On Christmas eve her nurse 
begged me not to allow her to attend 
midnight Mass, but when the patient suf- 
ferer made her own supplicating petition 
I had not the heart to refuse. 

"At ten o'clock that Holy Night, Sister 
Hyacinth took her to % the choir. After the 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 307 



singing of the Te Deum, the little Christ- 
child was brought in procession to the 
chapel and placed in the crib. As Sister 
Rose expressed an earnest desire to make a 
visit to the Babe in the manger, Sister 
Hyacinth and I lifting her in our arms 
managed to take her there. The poor 
Sister, though she had made an almost 
superhuman effort to kneel, could hardly do 
so for more than two minutes. When we 
assisted her back to her seat she sank in a 
state of supreme exhaustion. One of the 
Sisters, impelled by some mysterious feel- 
ing, took her crutches and placed them 
before the crib. In fact, the entire com- 
munity seemed to have a presentiment that 
God would do something wonderful that 
very night. 

"On the stroke of twelve, the solemn 
Midnight Mass began. At the Communion 
Sister Rose went to the railing as usual on 
her crutches, but it seemed more difficult 
for her to do so than ever before. As she 
received the Sacred Host her earnest prayer 
was: "0 Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst 
make me whole; but if it is to Your greater 
honor that I remain as I am I shall bear the 
cross most willingly for the rest of my life." 



308 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



A flood of happiness inundated her soul 
when she had made this act of resignation. 

" After a half hour had elapsed, I gave 
Sister Hyacinth a sign to conduct Sister 
Rose back to the infirmary. As the latter 
took up her crutches to repair to the sick- 
room, an inner voice seemed to whisper to 
her: 'Why do you take your crutches, you 
incredulous child? You do not need them 
anymore.' But not expecting such a signal 
favor to be worked in her behalf, Sister Rose 
heeded not the inner voice, and used her 
crutches as before. 

"Hardly had she reached the corridor, 
however, when she felt that her limbs were 
cured. Stopping for a moment, she placed 
her feet on the floor to test her strength. 
To the astonishment of her companions, she 
threw her crutches away, and stood erect 
without support. Then she fell on her 
knees in adoration before a crucifix hanging 
in the corridor. After this she arose and 
went to the chapel, where she prostrated 
herself at the feet of our Blessed Lord in 
the monstrance. Imagine our surprise, if 
you can, when we saw her walk up the aisle 
without any assistance. 

"The cure, too, was a complete one. Out 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 309 



of joy and thanksgiving, we then chanted 
the Te Deum, after which Sister Rose re- 
turned to the infirmary. At five o'clock 
she went with us to breakfast. Her ap- 
petite was very good, and she herself de- 
clared that she felt well. 

"Froin day to day we became convinced 
that we all had been an eyewitness to an 
extraordinary supernatural favor. Sister 
Rose's health was completely restored, for 
with her cure, her stomach trouble had en- 
tirely vanished. Immediately after Christ- 
mas she left the infirmary, and the stairs 
which for nine months she ascended with 
the greatest difficulty she now mounts with 
ease. May the Most Holy Sacrament 
and the Infant Jesus be praised and adored 
forever. 

Sister M. Seraphim van Biervliet, 

Abbess of the Poor Clares." 1 

A corporal stained with the Blood of 
Jesus Christ at Brussels has the following 
history the truth of which is vouched for by 
the Bishop of Cambrai. 

The Right Reverend Henry de Berges, 
Bishop of Cambrai, published a letter on 

1 Messenger of the Sacred Heart, Vol. 8, 1866. 



310 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



the first of May, 1493, in which he writes as 
follows: 

"The cure and rector of the Church of 
Notre Dame called 'De la Chapelle' at 
Brussels ; in our diocese, have informed us 
that for many years they have venerated 
in said church a corporal stained with the 
Blood of Jesus Christ and preserved in a 
vase of silver. They add that a priest, 
during the secret Memento after the con- 
secration and elevation of the Body and 
Blood of Jesus Christ, had entertained 
doubts about the substantial change of the 
white wine mixed with water, into the 
Blood of the divine Body of our Savior; 
that by accident .and through inadvertence 
he upset the contents of the chalice on the 
corporal; and that the whole corporal was 
stained with it. This corporal is in the said 
church an object of great veneration to the 
faithful. For a long time it has been the 
custom to expose it publicly on the Feasts 
of the Invention and Exaltation of the 
Holy Cross. During the religious upris- 
ings of the sixteenth century the corporal 
disappeared." 

A similar miracle to the above mentioned 
gave rise to the Confraternity of the Blessed 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 311 



Sacrament at Maubeuge, in French Hainault. 
A priest at the altar suddenly saw the 
Blood of Jesus Christ, fresh and ruddy, rise 
bubbling in the chalice and overflow on the 
corporal, which was saturated. The whole 
city was astir at this wonder. In order to 
perpetuate this event the Bishop gave orders 
that the precious linen, purpled with the 
Blood of the Savior, should be inclosed in 
a silver casket. A sanctuary was built as a 
shelter for this treasure and a Confraternity 
of the Blessed Sacrament established. Every 
year the members of the Confraternity, 
clothed in red mantles and torches in hand, 
take part in the procession held in honor of 
the miracle. 1 

Reflection 

Why does the Church enact a law that 
several or at least one lamp should per- 
petually burn before the Blessed Sacrament? 
It is because she wishes to honor our Lord. 
In our public festivals do we not use an 
array of brilliant illuminations? So, too, 
citizens make use of dazzling lights when 
they pay a public tribute to honor the 
president, king, or emperor. The same cus- 

1 Tabernakelwacht, 1898. 



312 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



torn has also prevailed in sacred history. So 
also the Church wishes to honor the King 
of Kings by having several or at least one 
lamp burning before Him in the places 
where He has chosen to make His abode 
and where He delights to dwell. This mark 
of respect is eminently pleasing to our Lord. 
As a proof of this, Pope Gregory I relates 
that one day, when there was no oil to sup- 
ply the lamp in the sanctuary of St. Paul's 
Church at Rome, the sacristan filled the 
lamp with water and lighted the wick; by a 
miracle of God's love it burned as if it had 
been really supplied with oil. St. John 
Chrysostom also affirms that many sick 
persons were suddenly cured after being 
anointed with the oil taken from the 
sanctuary lamp. 

As the star shone over the lonely crib of 
Bethlehem that the shepherds might know 
where the infant Jesus lay, so the light 
shines before the tabernacle to point out to 
the Faithful that here, too, is the same 
Savior whom they also should come to 
adore. 

The light is symbolic of Christ, "who is 
the true light, which enlighteneth every man 
that cometh into the world." It signifies 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 313 



that Christ is the light of the world, that 
He is the Way, the Truth and the Life, the 
unspotted mirror of God's majesty. The 
flames represent the love with which Christ 
burns for souls, therefore which He came to 
cast upon the earth and that He wishes to 
see enkindled in every human heart, while 
the oil is symbolic of the sweetness and 
mercy of Jesus in the Eucharist. The 
sanctuary lamp tells us that our lives should 
be consumed in the service of God, and 
bids us to love Him in the secret sanctuary 
of our hearts. It is related of a saintly 
priest that, when he saw the lamp, he was 
wont to exclaim: "Oh, that I could partici- 
pate in the nature of the oil in order that 
I might be consumed before the Blessed 
Sacrament.'' 



'flr&frt^ourtfj l^Uatung: ana Inflection 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 



'HERE are on record numberless favors 



J- granted by Jesus to those who pray 
to Him in the Blessed Sacrament. Car- 
dinal de Noailles, Archbishop of Paris, re- 
lates in his Pastoral of August 10, 1725, 
the following cure of Mme. Anne de la 
Flosse, which took place on the feast of Cor- 
pus Christi in 1725. This lady had been 
suffering for twenty years from an incur- 
able issue of blood. She had become so 
weak, that she was no longer able to walk 
even with the aid of cratches, and it very 
often happened that she fainted from sheer 
exhaustion. After she was compelled to 
leave her bed on account of pains in her 
side, and when out of bed had to be car- 
ried from one place to another. Sixty most 



Legenda 




FOR THE HOLY HOUR 315 



trustworthy witnesses testified to the fact 
that Anne de la Flosse was in this pitiable 
condition mentioned at the approach of the 
feast of Corpus Christi. It happened that 
about this time she felt strongly inspired by 
Almighty God to beseech our Lord to cure 
her at the moment when the Blessed Sac- 
rament would be carried by her house in 
the solemn procession of the feast. 

She was taken down and placed before 
the door where she waited patiently and 
prayed most fervently until our Lord was 
carried by. On being told, " Behold, there 
is the Blessed Sacrament/ J she knelt down 
to adore, and being too weak to remain in a 
kneeling posture, she threw herself on the 
ground and cried in a loud voice, "Lord, if 
Thou wilt, Thou canst make me whole, for 
I believe that in the Blessed Sacrament 
there is the same Lord who one day entered 
triumphantly into Jerusalem; forgive me 
my sins and I shall be cured." Then she 
tried to advance with the procession by 
dragging herself with her hands and knees, 
constantly crying out, "My Lord, Jesus 
Christ, if Thou wilt Thou canst cure me." 
Many of the people were perfectly aston- 
ished at her behavior, while others took her 



316 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



for a drunken or a crazy woman and insisted 
that she retire and keep silence. She would 
not be intimidated, however, but continued 
crawling after our Lord in the Blessed Sac- 
rament, saying, "Let me follow my Lord 
and my God." This great faith of hers 
could not go unrewarded. Suddenly she 
felt the strength returning to her limbs. 
Filled with holy joy she rose up, but fearing 
that she might not be strong enough to 
walk to church, she cried still louder than 
before, "Lord, let me enter Thy temple 
and I shall be cured." She then requested 
her two companions to allow her to walk 
unassisted and to the astonishment of all 
she proceeded without any support as far 
as the parish church, whither the Blessed 
Sacrament was being carried. As soon as 
she entered the church, she felt perfectly 
cured of the issue of blood, and so strong as 
to be able to walk about with ease. After 
spending a considerable time in thanking, 
praising, and blessing our Lord Jesus Christ 
in the Holy Eucharist for the immense 
benefit He had bestowed upon her, she re- 
turned home accompanied by a great crowd 
of people. Many who had witnessed her 
intense suffering for years now came to 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 317 



behold the great miracle which Jesus Christ 
in the Blessed Sacrament had wrought 
upon her. To make sure that she was 
perfectly cured, they requested her to walk 
up and down in their presence, which she 
did with the greatest delight, in order thus 
to give honor and glory and thanks to her 
divine Benefactor in the Blessed Sacrament. 1 

The same year, 1725, witnessed a no less 
remarkable incident in Chambry, France. 
This miracle was brought about by the 
prayers of a little child, not more than 
eleven years old, who had a wonderful de- 
votion to our hidden Lord of the tabernacle 
and who could often be seen in church 
praying most devoutly before the altar. 

One day her father was stricken with a 
fatal sickness. With tears in her eyes the 
child ran to the priest, uttering this sor- 
rowful plaint: "O Father, come, help us. 
Make my father well again !" "My child," 
answered the priest, "of myself I can do 
nothing, but I will bring our dear Lord in 

1 Explication de priers et de ceremonies de la Messe by 
Le Brune, torn. 3. Fastes et legendes par le Gaulie et 
Deharbe. 



318 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



the Holy Viaticum to your father. Pray 
that Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament may 
make him well." Following the priest's 
advice the good child prayed long and fer- 
vently before the tabernacle, but to her dis- 
may, when she returned home she found 
her father unimproved. Again the little one 
sought the priest: "Father," she said, "I 
have prayed so earnestly, but it is all of no 
avail." "Pray again and more fervently, 
my child," advised the holy man. Once 
more the little one knelt before the taber- 
nacle. She returned only to find her father 
sick unto death. With tearful eyes she 
again sought the priest: "Dear Father, I 
have done everything but the good God will 
not hear my prayer." Again she repaired 
to the church and knelt before Jesus in the 
home of His love. Her eyes brimming with 
tears, she thus framed her petition: "O 
Jesus, if Thou wilt Thou canst help my 
father!" Minutes passed into hours and 
still the little one knelt on, repeating again 
and again her heart's petition. Suddenly 
the church door opened and a manly figure 
entered a pew back of the kneeling child. 
Her prayers ended, the little one arose to 
hasten home to her sick father, when lo, 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 319 



there behind her knelt her father, fully re- 
covered through her angelic prayers. Filled 
with joy and gratitude, both gave thanks to 
Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. 1 

In the city of Eichfeld, Germany, the fol- 
lowing favor, wrought through the prayers 
of two children, is recorded. 

The wife of an officer in the Belgian 
army, a baroness by birth, had been by a 
paralytic stroke deprived of her voice and 
the use of her left arm for many years. In 
consequence of her infirmity,, she was obliged 
to entrust the education of her children to 
her husband. As soon as their little daugh- 
ter was prepared to make her First Holy 
Communion, the father took her to a nearby 
academy, where she was admitted as a mem- 
ber of the First Communion Class. Before 
the great day approached, the little girl on 
one occasion said to her mother: " Sweetest 
mother, just be patient till my First Com- 
munion Day, then our divine Lord will 
surely give you your speech again.' ' 

The joyful event was now at hand, and 
slowly and reverently the dear child made 

1 Eichsfeld Volksblatt, No. 24, 1884. 



320 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



her way to the altar railing to receive her 
Lord in her little heart. But one face was 
absent from among her relatives, for her 
poor mother was compelled to remain home 
on account of her infirmities, and thus had 
to forego the pleasure of seeing her daughter 
make her First Communion. But behold, 
our divine Lord did not allow the child's 
faith and confidence in His mercy and power 
to go unrewarded. Who can describe the 
joy of the whole family, when, on their 
return home from church, the mother greeted 
them, the first words she had spoken for 
years. 

Yet the good woman was still afflicted 
with another evil, for her arm remained as 
powerless as ever. This time her little boy 
came to her aid. "Mother," he said one 
day, "when I make my First Holy Com- 
munion, I shall ask our dear Lord to cure 
your arm." Not only had this particular 
limb been powerless, but after a thorough 
examination, an eminent physician had 
affirmed that a cancer had set in and that 
the mother's death was only a question of 
time. 

The month of April, 1871, saw the young 
boy making his First Holy Communion. In 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 321 



spite of her feeble condition, the afflicted 
mother was brought into the church. At 
the Communion of the Mass, filled with 
lively faith and confidence in God's mercy 
and power, she rose from her seat and cried 
out in pitiful accents: "O my Lord and my 
God, do not do Your work by halves." To 
the astonishment of all, her own prayer 
together with that of her son obtained for 
her the gift she craved: she had the entire 
use of her arm once more. Both children 
joined the happy mother in rendering thanks 
to God. 1 

Reflection 

In the Eucharist we receive the infinitely 
good and merciful God who has not only 
the power but the will to bestow all blessings 
upon us, for He loves us with an infinite 
love, and His heart yearns to enrich us with 
His gifts and graces, if we place no obstacle 
in the way. 

Hence it is that the Fathers of the Church 
affirm that one single communion, made 
with the requisite dispositions, suffices to re- 
form a sinner into a saint. And why not? 
At the Holy Table do we not approach the 

1 "Pelican/' 1893. 



322 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



source of all sanctity? Do we not receive 
there the very author of sanctification? How 
we ought to rejoice in this our faith! This 
God of ours is willing and able to make us 
holy, and if we seriously desire it He will 
accomplish this design of His love. 

And why should all this be impossible? 
If the hem of Christ's garment healed an 
inveterate disease, if the shadow of St. 
Peter walking through the streets of Jeru- 
salem restored health to the sick, what can- 
not He, who is the Lord of life, effect in 
those who receive Him? It is common 
teaching that we may become holy by living 
in intimacy with one who is holy. Why 
should not we who receive the Holy of Holies 
into our very hearts be more favored than 
Zaccheus who entertained the Holy of Holies 
in His own home? 

good Shepherd, do Thou calm all my 
sorrow; do Thou heal my wounds; do Thou 
feed me often with the "Food of angels/' 
that nourishes my soul and gives it life 
eternal. 




TOtMtftfi Keaiuno; ana Witilzttim 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

IN the year 1870, a soldier, severely 
wounded, happened to be an inmate of 
an infirmary in charge of the Jesuit Fathers 
of Metz. Imbued with the prevalent but 
erroneous idea that if he received the Holy 
Viaticum he would surely die, he persist- 
ently refused any spiritual assistance. As 
he grew worse from day to day, the doctors 
finally gave up all hopes of his recovery. 
When the soldier became aware of his 
imminent danger, he humbly asked for the 
priest, and with sentiments of true con- 
trition, received the last sacraments. No 
sooner had he made his thanksgiving after 
Communion than he fell into a deep sleep. 
The doctors, who had agreed upon an ampu- 
tation of the soldier's wounded arm, visited 



324 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



the patient while he was still sleeping. 
Examining the member, one of them said: 
"Who has healed this patient? What a 
happy change for the better." "This morn- 
ing/ ' the brother infirmarian replied, "he 
received Holy Communion." The soldier 
awoke while they were conversing. Hear- 
ing of the wonder wrought in his favor, he 
resolved with feelings of the deepest grati- 
tude and contrition to receive the Holy 
Sacraments often. The unexpected hap- 
pened. The man, whose death was only a 
question of time, recovered, and was soon 
able to leave the hospital, perfectly cured. 
True to his promise he was thereafter a 
fervent communicant. 1 

Church history furnishes us with many 
examples of wonderful cures wrought by 
the power of our Lord in the Blessed 
Sacrament. 

St. Gregory Nazianzen, when pronouncing 
a funeral oration over the death of his 
saintly sister, recounted the following: 

"At one time in her life my sister was 
afflicted with a terrible malady, so that the 

1 St. Benedicts Stimmen No. 12, 1881. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 325 



doctor had given up all hopes of her re- 
covery. But this good sister of mine, noth- 
ing daunted, left her bed one night and 
sought the church. There, in front of the 
tabernacle, she prostrated herself and thus 
communed with our hidden God: c O Lord, 
once during Your mortal life here on earth, 
a woman sorely afflicted with a serious dis- 
ease touched the hem of Your garment and 
was instantly cured. And have You be- 
come less powerful now? Is Your kind- 
heartedness never again to be displayed in 
behalf of the sick? Are Your love and 
omnipotence limited? Lord, look down 
upon me, a poor sinner, here prostrate be- 
fore Your tabernacle where Your immeas- 
urable love for creatures keeps You a 
prisoner. I protest that I shall not leave 
this spot till I am cured. " And was such 
a prayer of faith left unanswered? No, for 
hardly was her plaintive appeal uttered, 
when my sister arose from the spot com- 
pletely cured. " 1 

Sister Mary Gabriel, the subject of this 
little sketch, was of noble birth. Her tender 

1 Schweiz. Kath. Sonntagsbl. No. 38. 1886. Saint Greg, 
de Nazianze by Benoit. 



326 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



piety exalted her still more than her rank 
and fortune, for in her very youth, the parti- 
cipation of the Holy Eucharist was her great- 
est delight. After the death of her mother, 
closing her eyes to the golden prospects 
which lay within her grasp, she left her 
father's princely mansion, that in the seclu- 
sion of a cloister she might oftener and more 
worthily approach the Sacrament of Love. 

When her novitiate was finished, after 
some trial her confessor and superiors al- 
lowed her to communicate several times a 
week, increasing the privilege to daily com- 
municate a year after she pronounced her 
vows. Who can describe the transports of 
our holy Mary Gabriel? Who can tell of 
the delight and joy which filled her soul on 
being allowed to receive her God and Savior 
every day? A thousand times she blessed 
that divine hand which had withdrawn her 
from the world with all its vanity and de- 
ceit. Every moment she could spare she 
spent before the tabernacle of her Beloved, 
and not satisfied with her leisure moments 
of the day, like the dove whose amorous 
complaints is interrupted by night, she 
prolonged her visits even after the com- 
munity had retired to rest. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 327 



Inebriated with celestial sweets, this holy- 
creature might well complain with St. An- 
thony that the sun rose too soon for her, 
since often when its rays began to gild the 
horizon she could still be found with the 
dear object of her love. This did not sur- 
prise the community, knowing, as they did, 
Mary Gabriel's great devotion to the Holy 
Sacrament, and the solidity of her virtue, 
which did not consist in extraordinary 
transports alone, but in the constant prac- 
tice of humility, patience, mortification, 
exact fidelity to the rules, and divine 
obedience. 

But our Lord seldom finishes the work 
of sanctification on Thabor, He leaves it to 
be consummated on Calvary. This Mary 
Gabriel experienced, for she grew very ill, 
and was only able to approach the Holy 
Table occasionally. Nevertheless she bore 
this sensible privation in a most edifying 
manner. 

However, the privation of her most longed- 
for treasure increased her malady so that her 
health rapidly declined, and she was reduced 
to a mere shadow. Still she continued to 
edify her religious sisters by her pious resig- 
nation, which she practiced in the greatest 



328 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



perfection, though her extreme desire for 
communion often caused her to exclaim: 
" Alas, Mary Gabriel, where is now thy God? 
Are, then, the happy days in which He 
fed you with His own flesh at the table of 
His Love fled forever? O Jesus, my King, 
my Love, I love You and my inability to 
receive You so often is the greatest pain I 
endure/' 

One day in which she made an effort to 
visit the Holy Sacrament, her weakness 
became so great that they were obliged to 
carry her from the choir to the infirmary. 
She soon became much worse, and the 
superioress thought it would be advisable to 
have the Blessed Sacrament administered 
to her if possible. Nothing could give the 
poor invalid more joy than the happy news 
that she was soon likely to enjoy her God. 
"Ah, mother/' said she to the superioress, 
"from the moment I entered this holy house 
I felt no desire save that of possessing my 
Jesus in His Sacrament, and of enjoying 
Him in heaven. Now the hour has arrived, 
and this God of love is about to console and 
visit His child and His spouse surrounded 
by the shades of death. Will you, dear 
Reverend Mother, tell my religious sisters 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 329 



to ask our Lord to send His Blessed Mother 
and the angels, that they may form such a 
court as He has in heaven, and give Him a 
suitable reception when He comes to me." 

After these pious transports, the superi- 
oress directed the nuns to strew the church, 
the corridors through which the Holy of 
Holies was to pass, and the infirmary with 
roses, carnations, jessamines, and the most 
fragrant flowers. When all was ready the 
whole community, garbed in their habits 
and bearing lighted tapers, accompanied the 
divine Sacrament in grand procession, min- 
gling their solemn chants with the gentle 
tinkling of the bell. 

At the approach of the thrice Holy Vis- 
itant, Mary Gabriel, whose love rendered 
her superior to her weak state, got out of 
bed, and received the Last Sacrament with 
a fervor truly angelical. On account of her 
extreme weakness, however, they were soon 
obliged to make her return to bed and she 
died shortly after. After her death they 
found on her neck a medal with this 
inscription: It is for Jesus I live, and for 
Him I die. 1 



1 Les Merveilles de Sainte Eucharistie, 1890. 



330 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



Reflection 

Let us draw closer to Jesus in the taber- 
nacle and hear Him say: "Many kings and 
prophets wished to see what you behold, 
and have not seen it. During four thou- 
sand years, the just continually sighed for 
my coming. All the worship, ceremonies 
and the sacrifices of my faithful people were 
typical of Me, and prefigured Me. The 
expectation of My future reign on earth 
cheered the patriarchs and prophets in all 
their tribulations. Abraham, your father 
in the faith, saw My day in spirit — he saw 
it and rejoiced. Jacob consoled his chil- 
dren on his death-bed by promising that I, 
'The expectation of nations/ would come. 
David's soul thirsted for Me as the weary 
stag thirsts after the fountain of water. He 
declared He would be satisfied only when My 
glory would appear. Isaias wished that I 
would break through the heavens and come 
down. What they desired so much thou 
dost enjoy. What they wished to see thou 
canst behold every day. Thou canst not 
only behold Me, but receive Me into thy 
heart, and be entirely transformed into Me." 

In the words of St. Thomas, the Blessed 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 331 



Sacrament is an august memorial of divine 
omnipotence. It is, further, an admirable 
compendium of God's greatest gifts and 
miracles. When the Almighty assumed hu- 
man nature He elevated man to the throne 
of His divinity, and admitted Him to the 
bosom of His infinite charity. Here every- 
thing is changed, God's majesty abases itself 
to our nothingness, His immensity conceals 
and imprisons itself within the narrow pre- 
cincts of our hearts. In the incarnation, 
one man alone was an ineffable bond per- 
sonally united to the word in the Eucharist; 
the Word by an excess of love united Him- 
self to one of us by an alliance so noble that 
after the hypostatic union it is impossible to 
conceive anything more admirable. 

Jesus Christ merited some particular grace 
for us by each of the actions of His life. In 
the other sacraments we receive heavenly 
gifts drop by drop, as it were, but in this, 
our soul is submerged in the fountain of 
graces. God, how truly magnificent art 
Thou in Thy dwellings, with Thy poor 
creatures. inestimable Treasure, Thou 
couldst indeed make us an object of envy to 
the angels, if envy were possible to heavenly 
beings. 



332 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



During this Holy Hour let us say: O 
Lord, who will recount all Thy blessings? 
No tongue can express, no mind conceive, 
what Thou bestowest in Thy mystery on 
those who love Thee. Thou givest to the 
faithful soul the Food of Angels, the Bread 
of heaven, containing in itself all sweetness. 

"Now, Lord, Thou dost dismiss Thy 
servant in peace, because mine eyes have 
seen Thy salvation." 



TOtt^&fetl) Eeatung anb Inflection 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

THERE has been found in the archives 
of the church of the Franciscans a 
letter written December 22, 1714, by Mgr. 
de Belsume, Bishop of Marseilles, which 
treats of a miracle in connection with the 
Blessed Sacrament. 

"On Friday, September the 21st of this 
year, the Most Blessed Sacrament was 
exposed in the church of the Franciscans of 
this city. Shortly before Benediction, about 
three and a half in the evening, the weather 
being very cloudy and rainy, there appeared 
before the whole congregation in the mon- 
strance above the tabernacle a figure in 
relief. It represented Jesus Christ at half- 
length. The Savior's head showed a medal- 
lion struck on the Host. The face was 



334 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



luminous and the eyes full of life. The 
witnesses cannot say precisely what was 
the color of the face, hair, beard or clothing. 
They certify only that they remarked all 
these things, also the features of the face, 
and that from afar, as well as near, they saw 
the same thing and with the same ease. 
The face of the Savior appeared to them 
rather long and of inexpressible beauty and 
sweetness. 

"The Brother Sacristan and some others, 
being the first to perceive it, called to a 
religious who was passing. This religious, 
surprised and believing at first that there 
was some trickery in it (these are his own 
words), wished to examine the apparition 
more closely. Several times he changed his 
position for that purpose. He retired to a 
distance, he approached the altar, but from 
all these different points, whether near or 
remote, he saw the same figure looking at 
him. Not satisfied with approaching as 
near as possible, he mounted and knelt on 
the altar, his face pressed against the mon- 
strance, on the glass of which he still beheld 
the likeness of the Savior. Then he took a 
lighted wax-taper which was near, and turn- 
ing around the crystal of the monstrance, 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 335 



he saw the same thing. This religious- 
priest, being a painter, at once thought of 
his art. He desired to engrave the likeness 
on his mind in order to sketch it. But when 
he tried to examine the eyes, he was unable 
to support their glance. He remained, as it 
were, immovable. They were obliged to 
take the candle from his hand and assist 
him to descend from the altar, around which 
the people were gathered in holy admiration. 

"The Father Guardian, informed of what 
had transpired, and following the example of 
St. Louis, did not desire to see the prodigy 
nor to inform his religious in their choir 
stalls of what had taken place. No one 
thought of sending to notify my Grand 
Vicars, for I was in my country home in 
Aubagne. He even ordered them without 
further delay to give Benediction of the 
Blessed Sacrament. The priest who gave 
it, informed by the religious-priest, beheld 
the same wonder on taking down the mon- 
strance from the niche. He saw it until the 
monstrance was placed on the altar, and 
then, like the others, he beheld only the 
Sacred Host as usual. 

"More than sixty persons, among them 
five or six Franciscans, persons of all ages 



336 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



and professions, and all worthy of belief, 
say they saw the same thing under the same 
circumstances. There was no disagreement 
among those whom I have interrogated in 
the ordinary forms and with the closest 
attention. I forgot to mention that a little 
child called loudly to its mother to look 
at what was so beautiful. But before pro- 
ceeding with the juridical examination of 
the witnesses, I commenced by going to the 
Franciscan Church accompanied by my 
Grand Vicars, Promotor and Secretary. 
Then I visited the so-called miraculous 
Host. I found it like the others. They 
had examined it after the Benediction at 
which the prodigy took place, and replaced 
it in the ciborium only after having scru- 
tinized both sides. The empty monstrance 
remained as usual on the altar. It could be 
easily seen that it held nothing capable of 
producing such an effect. I had the mon- 
strance brought to me. I found the glass 
thick, slightly obscure, and all cut in 
facets like a diamond, so that any image 
placed opposite to it would have been re- 
flected as many times as there were facets. 
It did not appear that any reflection of 
light could have been employed. I ordered 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 337 



an unconsecrated host to be put into the 
monstrance, the latter placed in the niche, 
and candles lighted as on the feast of St. 
Matthew. I made them draw and open the 
curtains of the church. I examined whether 
any picture had been placed in such a way 
as to cast on the crystal of the monstrance 
the face which had been seen there. It all 
appeared impossible to me as there was not 
in the whole church a picture of the Savior 
except an Ecce Homo, crowned with thorns, 
poorly executed, but venerable as being the 
work of King Rene, Count of Anjou and 
Provence. Finally, Sir, we all concluded, 
after mature and deliberate examination, 
that there could not be anything natural in 
what had occurred, and that they might por- 
ceed with the hearing of the witnesses to the 
miracle. This apparition lasted more than 
a half hour." 1 

Graverolles, a hamlet on a small island 
of the Seine, was inhabited by about forty 
families. It boasted of a small church where 
the Holy Sacrifice was offered several times a 
week by the assistant priest of Rigny. The 

1 Pastoral Letter, Dec. 22, 1714, by Mgr. de Belsunce. 
Sentinel of the Blessed Sacriment, Vol. XV. 



338 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



little Mass-server, Peter Hureau, was a 
bright boy of eleven, and a child of unusual 
piety. He was preparing for his First Holy 
Communion, which he hoped to receive in 
the coming month of May, 1910. On the 
morning of January 28th, as little Peter 
crossed the bridge on his way to school at 
Rigny, he noticed the water had risen since 
the day before. Yet, as the hamlet was much 
higher than the stream and he had often 
heard it said that there was no danger of 
an overflow of the Seine, he did not worry. 

At four o'clock in the evening on his way 
homeward, Peter noticed the Seine had 
risen considerably since morning. In the 
distance the meadows were under water, 
presenting a broad, grey surface covered 
with tiny waves, here and there broken 
by protruding tree-tops. The little lad 
admired the spectacle, but felt no fear. 
Graverolles, he thought, was beyond danger. 
Thus he quietly turned aside from the 
ordinary road and ascended a by-path, to 
the edge of a small wood, where stood a 
statue of the Blessed Virgin. A half-hour 
walk brought him to the spot. Although 
it was now twilight he nevertheless knelt 
there a long time, praying most fervently for 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 339 



the grace to receive a worthy First Holy 
Communion, before starting home. But 
when he arrived at Graverolles, he found 
the water nearly as high as the bridge and, 
thoroughly frightened at last, he hastened 
his steps homeward. 

In a short time he reached his parents 7 
house, but it was deserted, as were the 
neighboring houses also. By this time the 
river had broken through its boundaries in 
several places, and now threatened the en- 
tire hamlet with destruction. The people 
had fled, Peter's parents evidently hoping 
to meet him on his way from school, but un- 
fortunately this particular evening he had 
taken another path. He decided, therefore, 
to return to Rigny with all possible speed. 
As he passed the chapel, his attention was 
attracted by the perpetual light burning 
before the Blessed Sacrament. Doubtless 
the chaplain was ignorant of the high water 
and, moreover, he was not expected to re- 
turn before morning. By that time the 
chapel would certainly be flooded. What 
was to be done? Guided by divine inspi- 
ration, Peter, without further reflection, re- 
solved to carry the ciborium with him to 
Rigny. 



340 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



But, alas! the sacristan had put away 
the tabernacle key. He searched for it in 
the twilight for a long time. Meanwhile the 
howling wind and roaring waters waxed 
louder. At last, however, the key is found. 
The boy hastens to the chapel, up to his 
knees in water. Fortunately the chapel is a 
few steps higher than the street. He enters. 
The flood, rising every minute, presses in 
after him. He runs to the tabernacle, opens 
it and takes out the ciborium. As he steps 
again into the street, he finds himself waist- 
deep in water. Vainly he struggles to move 
forward. The water is too deep and he can 
scarcely stand erect. With great difficulty 
he returns to the chapel: he is locked in, a 
prisoner with his God. He places the ci- 
borium upon the altar and kneels down at 
the railing. Suddenly dreadful fear seizes 
him: if the flood should rise, he must perish 
here alone. But Jesus is here. However, 
he cannot receive Him, he must die without 
having made his First Holy Communion. 
His eyes fill with tears. He prays. . . . 
"My God, my God, do not abandon me." 
An hour passes in this state of dread. He 
prays. . . . But the flood rises and reaches 
the communion rail. Peter mounts the 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 341 



upper altar step. Another hour passes. 
He prays . . . the water is still rising. "My 
Jesus, forgive me if I seek refuge near Thee." 
He climbs upon the altar. Ever higher and 
higher rises the water. A wave sweeps over 
the altar table, Peter seizes the ciborium, and 
climbs higher upon the projecting shelf and 
then upon the tabernacle into the niche 
where so often the monstrance had rested. 
He presses the sacred vessel close to his 
bosom. A thought suggests itself. "If the 
water keeps on rising I shall drown; I can't 
mount any higher. But might I not give 
myself Holy Communion before I die?" 
He ventures not to answer this question. 

The chill grows more severe, and he 
shivers from head to foot. Fever now 
makes itself felt. He sits down on the 
narrow space which is still untouched by 
the water, and leans back against the wall. 
His lips still move in prayer, while the 
ciborium is closely pressed to his heart. He 
feels his strength gradually leaving him, 
dullness and sleepiness creep over him and 
his head sinks forward upon his breast. The 
water rises no higher; it surges about the 
tabernacle and the sleeping child — a living 
monstrance. 



342 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



When morning dawned, a small boat could 
be seen carefully plying its way through 
Graverolles. It was occupied by two men 
and a priest and they row^ed in the di- 
rection of the chapel. As they enter the 
open door what an amazing spectacle meets 
their eyes, the boy white as a ghost, his 
head bowed forward, immovable upon the 
tabernacle. 

"Peter," called the chaplain, but there 
was no reply. They rowed up closer and 
as they carefully lifted the boy down they 
saw the ciborium in his hands. As he was 
laid in the boat, he slowly opened his eyes. 
"Peter," said the priest, "are you chilled?" 
He smiled as he answered, "No." "Peter, 
are you hungry?" Again a faint smile, and 
"Yes," fell softly from his lips. "Would 
you like a little bread and wine?" Faintly 
he shook his head. "What do you wish, my 
dear child?" With a weak gesture the 
little hero pointed to the ciborium. The 
priest, deeply moved, looked heavenward, 
his eyes glistening with tears. 

"Yes, my dear Peter," he said, "yes, you 
have deserved your Jesus since you have 
rescued Him." Taking a Sacred Host and 
saying in a low voice: "Behold the Lamb 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 343 



of God," he placed It as Viaticum upon the 
boy's tongue. Little Peter smiled gently, 
closed his eyes, and began to pray. 

"Let us return at once," the priest said to 
the two men. "We must row back im- 
mediately to Rigny, where his parents are 
weeping and mourning his loss." 

The boat moved out slowly, gliding 
through the ruins. The sun had risen 
bright and shed its rays upon the awful 
disaster. Some of its first beams played 
about the child and he began to move. 
Then a slight trembling, a sigh, and Peter's 
soul ascended to heaven. 1 

Reflection 

We read in the Old Testament how Elias, 
strengthened by material food, walked forty 
days and nights to Mount Horeb, the Moun- 
tain of God. How much more easily cannot 
we, sustained by a divine nutriment, ascend 
to the summit of the heavenly Jerusalem? 
If the Paschal Lamb by the impress of its 
blood on the door-posts of the houses of the 
Israelites protected them from the exter- 
minating angel, what power should not the 
Eucharistic Lamb have to preserve us from 

1 Tabernacle and Purgatory, Vol. XI, page 71. 



344 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



death? blessed a thousand times be this 
ineffable mystery! Who can fail to recog- 
nize in the adorable Eucharist the throne of 
grace, the fount ainhead of all good? 

During this Holy Hour let us draw near 
the tabernacle and contemplate Him under 
the Eucharistic veils. What annihilation, 
what uninterrupted silence! Yet He as- 
sures us: "Be not deceived, for the more 
I annihilate myself, the more I love you; 
the greater My silence, the better I listen 
to your every petition; the more I conceal 
Myself, the more I discover Myself heart 
and soul to you. Verily, 'I sleep, but My 
heart watches.' " 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

IT once happened that St. Bonaventure 
was permitted to suffer an extraordinary 
anxiety which kept him back from the Holy 
Table. The presence of Jesus in the Blessed 
Sacrament filled him with fear. He was 
consumed with longing to receive Him in 
Holy Communion, but the consciousness of 
unworthiness held him back. Thus was he 
languishing between love and fear, when 
the Lord Himself took compassion on his 
suffering. As he was one day assisting at 
Holy Mass, absorbed in contemplation of 
the Passion of Christ, a portion of the Con- 
secrated Host which was in the hands of the 
priest, placed itself upon his lips. Upon 
this he was filled with inexpressible joy; his 
anxiety was dispelled; confidence and joy 
took possession of his soul, and from that 



346 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



time every Communion became to him a 
fresh source of joy. 1 

Blessed Ida of the Cistercian Order, once 
accompanied the Prioress and several sisters 
of the community into the country in order 
to gather in the harvest. Here she was not 
able to communicate so frequently as she 
did in her convent. But whenever she 
heard the elevation bell, an ardent longing 
for the Bread of Life took possession of her. 
It happened that a certain very aged woman 
who was dying in that neighborhood desired 
Viaticum. The nuns were present on this 
occasion. Now when the priest placed the 
Sacred Host upon the tongue of the dying 
woman, it was found that she was unable to 
swallow It, and his dismay was great when 
obliged to remove It, from her mouth. 
This untoward circumstance, which so 
troubled the priest, filled the pious sister with 
a blessed hope. "0 my Father !" cried she, 
"be not troubled! Let me have the body of 
my Lord!" Thus the holy maiden received 
Holy Communion and was so overcome with 
love and joy, that for some time she lay on 
the ground rapt out of her senses. 2 

1 Ott, Eucharisticum, page 217. 

2 Les Veilles des adorateurs du S. S. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 347 



In the life of St. Thomas Aquinas it is 
related that one day a frightful storm raged 
around the monastery in which he lived. 
Overcome by fear the monks fled into the 
cloister to seek a refuge. The angelic Doc- 
tor, however, sought refuge before the taber- 
nacle of the Eucharist; leaning his venerable 
head against the Prison of Love, he awaited 
in silence the end of the terrific storm. 

Amid the storms of the world and of the 
passions, amid calumny, persecutions, and 
troubles which may rise up against us, let 
us seek refuge with the God of Hosts and 
we shall find a shelter and a tower of might 
against the furious onslaughts of the enemies 
of our soul. 

St. Bridget writes: "One day, whilst a 
priest was celebrating Mass, I saw how all 
the powers of heaven were set in motion; 
I heard at the same time a heavenly music 
most harmonious. Numberless angels came 
down, the chant of whom no human under- 
standing can conceive, nor the tongue of 
man can describe." 1 

On the accession of St. Malachy to the 
archiepiscopal See of Armagh, the state of 

1 In Chron. aetat. 6, anno 774. De Sacerd. Lib 6, c. 4. 



348 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



religion in Ireland was at a very low ebb. 
The saint ; knowing that without Jesus in 
the Blessed Sacrament he could not bring 
his people to practice their religion and 
lead a God-fearing life, sought in various 
ways to bring them to more frequent Com- 
munion. He took pains to make the ser- 
vice of God as grand and as imposing as 
possible, so as to create the greatest pos- 
sible reverence for the Holy Sacrament of 
the altar. Nor was He less careful for the 
welfare of the dead, but prayed incessantly 
for the holy souls in purgatory and offered 
the Sacrifice of the Mass for their relief. 

Now it happened that the archbishop's 
sister died. During her life she had often 
upbraided him for condescending to visit 
personally the poor sick and for this she 
received due punishment. For thirty suc- 
cessive days St. Malachy offered the Holy 
Sacrifice for the repose of her soul. God, 
by a special grace, made known to the saint 
in a dream the sad condition of his sister, 
for at the expiration of the thirtieth day he 
thought he heard a pitiful voice and, look- 
ing, he saw her, clothed in mourning, stand- 
ing under the porch of the church awaiting 
her deliverance through his help. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 349 



The next morning, therefore, St. Malachy 
again offered the Sacred Mysteries for the 
relief of his sister. That same night she 
appeared to him with a sorrowful counte- 
nance for the second time. She had, how- 
ever, approached a few steps nearer to the 
church. For some days the saint continued 
to offer the Mass for his sister with special 
devotion, when one day she appeared to 
him clothed in a fair white garment. She 
now entered the church, but could not ap- 
proach the altar. Consoled by this ap- 
parition, Malachy continued to offer the 
Holy Sacrament for her, until at length she 
appeared to him with a radiant countenance, 
clothed in a white robe. She was now able 
to approach the altar. The saint was given 
to understand that his sister came to return 
thanks to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, 
before entering into eternal glory. 1 

A chapel in the diocese of Vannes, France, 
was on one occasion destroyed by fire. So 
quickly had the flames spread that it was 
impossible for anyone to secure the Blessed 
Sacrament. When the conflagration was 

1 Lives of the Saints, Nov. 3. 



350 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



over, however, although the priest found 
the tabernacle entirely charred, the ciborium 
rested unharmed on the corporal. In spite 
of the fact that the veil covering the cibo- 
rium was singed, the corporal itself, although 
it was made of linen was intact, w r hile the 
consecrated Host looked fresh and white. 
The account of this miraculous occurrence, 
which took place in 1880, may be read in 
a paper called "Northburg." 1 

St. Gregory the Great tells us of a 
deceased contemporary near Rome, who 
appeared to a holy priest earnestly beg- 
ging him for prayers. For a whole w r eek 
the priest offered up the Sacrifice of the 
Mass for the deceased, and thereby knew 
by supernatural enlightenment that the 
soul had been released through the efficacy 
of the Mass. St. Gregory also makes men- 
tion of a monk of the monastery of St. 
Andrew, who, after a number of Masses had 
been offered for him, appeared in the light 
of glory and expressed gratitude for his 
deliverance. 

Louis the Lion had to endure inexpres- 

1 Ott: Euch., page 177. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 351 



sible torments in purgatory and conjured 
his son to obtain relief for him and to aid 
him to attain the glories of heaven. His 
son immediately forwarded large sums of 
money as alms to all the monasteries of his 
kingdom with the petition that Holy Masses 
should at once be said for the soul of his 
father. Soon afterward the deceased ap- 
peared and joyfully announced to his son 
that he had been delivered. 

St. Peter Damien relates the following 
occurrence of his time: Pope Benedict 
VIII appeared several days after his death 
to three Bishops and told them that it had 
been made known to him that the mercy of 
God would grant him deliverance from 
purgatory, if Odilo, the venerable abbot of 
Cluny, would make intercession for him. 
This communication was taken to the ab- 
bot, who at once summoned all his monks 
to pray for the deceased Pontiff, and they 
began a novena of Masses for the repose of 
his soul. Near the close of the novena, 
the Pope appeared in a transfigured state, 
thanking Odilo for the prayers and Masses. 1 

1 Manual of Christian Doctrine by Dr. J. Schuster, page 
673. Ott: Euch., page 155. 



352 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



Reflection 

One day as St. Gertrude was meditating 
on the great love which makes the Lord 
and King of heaven find His delight in the 
society of men, our Savior illustrated what 
seemed to her so incomprehensible by the 
following comparison: The son of a king is 
surely much higher and greater than the 
children who run about the streets. He has 
in his father's palace everything that can 
delight and gratify him, yet if you give him 
his choice, either to go out and play with 
the children on the street or to stay at 
home amid the splendor of his father's court, 
he will certainly prefer the former. "Thus, 
I too," said the Lord, "find my pleasure in 
going with you and having instituted the 
Blessed Sacrament for this end, anyone who 
prevents a soul from receiving Me, deprives 
Me of a great pleasure." He also said to 
St. Mechtildis, "Look at the bees and see 
with what eagerness they seek the honey- 
flowers, yet know that my desire to come 
to you in Holy Communion is far greater." 
He even declared to St. Margaret of Cor- 
tona that He would reward her confessor 
richly for having advised her to receive 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 353 



Holy Communion frequently; and Father 
Antonio Torres, as we read in his life, 
appeared, shortly after death, in great 
splendor, to a certain person, and revealed 
to him that God had increased his glory in 
heaven in a special manner for having 
recommended frequent Communion to his 
penitents. 

During this Holy Hour let us repeat this 
beautiful prayer: "0 most amiable Jesus, 
when will you take away my foul heart 
from me and bestow upon me your own? 
Or when will my heart be filled with the 
odor of your virtues, and entirely inflamed 
with the love of heavenly things? Ah, 
sweetest Jesus, inclose my heart in yours, 
that you alone may dwell in it, and possess 
it, that by the dignity of Your heart mine 
may be enobled and adorned." 



t&WtVt&istitt) leading anti Reflection 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

AFTER the battle of Leibnitz in which 
the Salesians lost over 30,000 men, 
including their General, Prince Henry, King 
Wenceslaus I. of Bohemia conferred the 
leadership of the army on Jareslaus, the 
valiant knight of Sternburg. With twelve 
thousand men he settled down at Olmitz 
to defend the capital city. 

On the third day the Tartars, who had 
been so successful in the past, made their 
appearance. Day by day they approached 
closer to the city. Attacking first the 
Premonstratensian monastery, they ran- 
sacked it and burned it to the ground with 
terrible carnage. Having massacred the sol- 
diers and the inmates of the monastery, 
they severed the heads from their bodies 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 355 



and tied them to the tails of horses which 
they drove within the walls of the city to 
intimidate the people. This dastardly and 
barbarous act served only to make Jarislaus 
and his men more determined to conquer 
their brutal enemy. But though his army 
pressed him to the conflict, the prudent 
warrior deferred action. Regarding such as 
a sign of fear, the enemy entertained the 
greatest hope of being victorious, and in an- 
ticipation of their triumph, gave themselves 
up to dissipation and feasting. Jarislaus, 
on seeing this, realized that the oppor- 
tune time was at hand, but being fully 
aware that an undertaking of such a nature 
demanded more than valor and intrepid 
courage, he considered that his first and 
sacred duty was to call upon God for assist- 
ance. It was on the 24th of June, the 
feast of St. John the Baptist, and Jarislaus 
and his officers repaired to the church to 
receive the Sacrament of Penance and Holy 
Eucharist, the remainder of the army follow- 
ing their example. Then the brave leader, 
encouraging his men by friendly words and, 
reminding them of their sacred duty to their 
homes, gave orders that the attack should 
be made on the following night. 



356 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



As the shades of evening descended, the 
soldiers impatiently awaited the signal for 
the conflict, but it was not till a little before 
daybreak that Jarislaus with his brave men 
advanced to the Tartar camp. When near 
the city gates all dismounted, and kneeling 
on the ground, besought God's blessing on 
their undertaking. The valiant Jarislaus 
himself vowed, that if through the assist- 
ance of the Blessed Mother he was vic- 
torious, he would erect a church in her 
honor. After reciting a "Hail Mary," the 
men took up their arms and advanced in 
the name of the Lord. 

Although their number was small, it was 
with the greatest enthusiasm that they 
pressed forward. Jarislaus, not satisfied 
with going only in the name of the Lord, 
wanted the Lord Himself to lead the army. 
He therefore ordered that five particles of 
the Sacred Host which had been left over 
after the distribution of Holy Communion 
on the previous morning should be placed 
in a costly receptacle, wilich was carried 
before the army by the parish priest seated 
on a war charger. 

Then the battle began. Baruch, the 
leaders of the Tartars, was slain by Jaris- 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 357 



laus himself, after which the ranks of the 
enemy began to give way, for with the death 
of their leader their valor and courage 
diminished. As a result, the cities of 01- 
mitz and Mehern were saved and the Chris- 
tian army delivered from the army of the 
Tartar. 

As if to show how the victory should be 
ascribed primarily to the power of the 
Sacred Host, the edges of the five particles 
assumed a brilliant red color. Thus did 
Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament come to the 
aid of His own. 1 

A publication in Canada called "The 
Messenger/' in the year of our Lord 1883, 
narrated the following remarkable incident. 

A young man almost twenty-five years 
of age, suddenly became sick at the place 
where he was working. It had been the 
custom among the men* employed there to 
recite the rosary in common every day and 
this particular youth, although a Protes- 
tant, did not hesitate to join the others in 
their prayers. Now, however, his well- 
known voice was missing as hour by hour 
he approached his last agony. Realizing 
l Ott: Euch., page 193. 



358 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



his danger he called for a priest, but his 
friends, thinking this was a mere fancy of 
the dying man, were reluctant to fulfill his 
request. Furthermore the nearest priest was 
five miles away, and a heavy snowfall had 
made travelling perilous. The sick man, 
however, persisted. " Bring me a priest/' 
he begged, "I want to become a Catholic 
so that I may die a happy death. " Notic- 
ing their hesitation, he summoned strength 
enough to say: "Why, you Catholics are 
wavering. Do you want me to die without 
a priest? For God's sake go and bring me 
one. I may not live till he comes." Struck 
by his earnest words the men immediately 
started on their wearisome journey. Five 
miles of hard driving through snowdrifts 
and embankments, brought them to the 
pastor's residence. As soon as the good 
priest learned the meaning of their errand 
he hurried back with them to the bedside 
of the sufferer. 

The patient seemed almost in the throes 
of death, but revived sufficiently to receive 
the necessary instructions. Eagerly he lis- 
tened to every word and obeyed every in- 
junction of the priest. After his abjuration 
when the waters of Baptism had flowed over 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 359 



his head, he grew quieter. Then the man 
of God, before giving him Holy Communion, 
addressed him thus: "Son, this is your 
First Holy Communion, and it may be your 
last. Ask our divine Lord now for two 
favors, either that you may die a blessed 
death or that you may be spared to your 
family if it is His Holy Will." Fervently 
did the poor sufferer receive his Lord, so 
much so that the priest testified he had 
never seen such faith and such reverence. 
A moment after receiving the Holy Viati- 
cum, he opened his eyes and in an earnest 
voice cried out: "I am healed," and to the 
astonishment of all gathered around the 
bedside, he arose and united with them in 
a prayer of thanksgiving. 

The miracle was not without its own 
results. Not only was the sick man com- 
pletely restored to health, but the resto- 
ration caused the conversion of a man who 
had long been living the life of a tepid luke- 
warm Catholic. Immediately after the mir- 
acle he acknowledged before all: "This 
wonderful occurrence was necessary to rouse 
me from my indifference. It has brought 
me good luck. Back to the Catholic Church 
I go to-day." 



360 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



"The following morning after prayer and 
breakfast/' writes the priest, "I gave the 
young man further instructions. He is now 
with his family and his good example is the 
means of gaining souls for heaven. " 1 

"One day/' says St. Liguori, "Jesus 
Christ will sit on a throne of majesty in the 
valley of Jehosaphat, but here in the Most 
Holy Sacrament, He sits on a throne of 
love. He is a most loving and generous 
friend to us in this valley of tears. We can 
converse with Him, we can open our hearts 
to Him, we can ask for graces, we can treat 
with Him on the interests of our soul in the 
strictest confidence and in the greatest 
intimacy." 

"In our churches the Lord dwells with 
His angels, who are going continually from 
us to Him, and returning from Him to us. 
Here are truly the House of God and the 
Gate of Heaven, for the God of Abraham 
here shows Himself to His servants and 
encourages, strengthens, and blesses them. 

"Christian churches, sanctuaries of the 
adorable Eucharist, abode of the happiness 

1 Messenger of the Sacred Heart, 1883, page 449. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 361 



of the faithful soul, how is it possible to 
express your greatness, and your titles to 
our affection. Does not the Son of God 
come down from heaven and become in- 
carnate there in the hands of the priest? 
Does He not there renew His birth, His 
life, His death and His burial? Yes, we 
possess truly in our sanctuaries the divine 
Child, the teacher of nations, the Lamb 
sacrificed for the redemption of the world, 
and there He instructs us, feeds us with 
Himself, and continues to shed His blood 
for us. 'I have chosen and have sanctified 
this place that My name may be there 
forever, and My eyes and My heart may 
remain there perpetually.' " 

Reflection 

The Blessed Sacrament is truly the re- 
membrance of the wonderful works of God. 
Although at the moment of consecration the 
substance of the bread is completely changed, 
yet, everything seems to remain unchanged, 
that is to say, the appearance of bread is 
there without that which in other circum- 
stances is necessary to sustain it — namely 
the bread itself. 

What a great, what a mighty miracle is 



362 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



this, a miracle that stands alone. We must 
consider that ordinarily when a substance is 
changed, something is always changed in 
its appearance. From the outward appear- 
ance we recognize that a change has taken 
place in the thing itself. Here in the 
Blessed Sacrament, however, though it is no 
longer bread, the appearance remains the 
same. Further, this unique miracle does not 
take place now and then, or in certain places : 
it exists everywhere from the rising of the 
sun to the going down thereof, even to the 
end of the world. Our Lord in His love for 
us is not satisfied with exerting the fullness 
of His power upon His creatures; His love 
urges Him to the extreme limit of possi- 
bility. Truly, God has in this Sacrament 
left us a memento of His wonderful works. 



%Wtv*nint§ l&eabfng and Inflection 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

IN the year 1668, on the Saturday within 
the octave of Corpus Christi, a wonder- 
ful phenomenon occurred in a church at 
Ulm, Germany. Just as the priest was 
chanting the words, "Verbum caro, panem 
verum," in adoration of the divine Sacra- 
ment, the figure of a person appeared in 
the monstrance. This miraculous occur- 
rence lasted more than a quarter of an 
hour, not only over the tabernacle where 
the Blessed Sacrament was exposed, but 
also when the priest removed the mon- 
strance to the altar table the apparition con- 
tinued. A white silvery cloud enveloped 
the monstrance previous to the vanishing 
of the figure, after which the Host appeared 
as usual. 



364 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



The Bishop of Ange, Rt. Rev. Henry 
Arnauld, published a pastoral letter on this 
supernatural incident which is preserved in 
the archives of the cathedral. 1 



In the year 1885 a remarkable cure 
was effected in a small village in France 
through the power of the Blessed Sacra- 
ment. 

It was on the eve of Corpus Christi. 
Throughout the village young and old 
were striving with each other to make 
the various altars bowers of beauty. The 
whole city was astir with preparation, 
and over it all hovered a spirit of holy 
joy. 

One house, however, the finest in the 
town, contributed nothing to the general 
excitement, for sorrow and grief reigned 
within its walls. A child of scarce twelve 
summers, the pride and hope of its parents, 
lay prostrate from a malady for which the 
doctors knew no remedy. It was the child 
of Count C. 

1 Tabernakelwacht, 1903. Ulms dio. Angers, 1868. 
Pastoral Letter dated June 25, 1668, by Bishop Henry 
Arnauld. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 365 



As evening fell on the eve of the great 
feast the church bells rang forth their joy- 
ous peals, and brought their message to 
the slumbering child. "Mother," he said 
drowsily, "why are the bells ringing?" 
"Those are the church bells, my child," 
she answered, "ringing in Corpus Christi, 
to-morrow's feast." "Ah, the feast of Cor- 
pus Christi," he murmured, "how beautiful. 
Do you remember, mother, last year you 
gave me permission to join the procession? 
It was the day after my First Holy Com- 
munion. I was well and happy then, but 
now — " 

There was a pause as the child recalled 
each detail of that joyous day. Then, as 
a new thought came into his mind, he 
turned to his father and said pleadingly: 
"Papa, won't you take me to the window 
to-morrow, so that I can see the procession?" 
"Yes, my child, I will," answered he, "but 
now it is better for you to rest. Try to 
go to sleep again." "Ah," continued the 
child, as if he were musing to himself, "God 
can cure me if he wishes; I am going to ask 
Him to-morrow!" 

With these words he fell back again on 
his pillow, quite exhausted. As soon as he 



366 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



was once more resting quietly the count 
addressed his wife, saying: "I have the 
fullest confidence in God that our boy will 
be cured. Let us build an altar before our 
home/' and so it was done. 

The next day dawned bright and glorious. 
Fleecy clouds dotted the heavens and the 
sun brightened every dark corner with its 
brilliant rays. The village seemed a veri- 
table fairyland. Here and there the streets 
were carpeted with flowers, and music's 
soft melody dispelled all sadness. 

At four o'clock in the afternoon the 
procession started on its course and within 
a short time turned into the street fronting 
the count's residence. There shone the 
altar sparkling with gold and agleam with 
lights and above all blazed an inscription: 
"Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me 
whole." The sick child rested in an arm- 
chair, supported by his parents. Tears 
filled their eyes as they saw the procession 
in the distance and noticed the faces of the 
children beaming with joy. But the father, 
a man of faith, though heart-sore and 
troubled on account of the boy, cast his 
care aside for the moment and with lighted 
torches went with his servants to meet our 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 367 



divine Lord. The sick boy dressed in his 
First Communion suit, and with his rosary 
twisted around his fingers, wistfully watched 
every movement. The procession drew 
nearer and nearer until the priest's voice 
could be heard at the altar below. "O 
Sacred Host, who has opened for us the 
portals of heaven, give us strength. Come 
to our aid." In feeble accents the child 
tried to join in the singing and then, making 
a supreme effort, fell on his knees crying 
out: "0 Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst 
make me whole." 

As the priest passed, he gave the child 
a special blessing with the monstrance, to 
the great comfort of his parents. The pro- 
cession continued on its way, and the boy 
was brought back to bed. " Father," whis- 
pered he, as the strong man lifted him to 
his pillows, "the good God has heard my 
prayer, I feel that I am getting better." 

And so it really was. The house where 
sorrow and sadness had reigned was now 
filled with joy. Borne on the air came the 
sweet strains of "Holy God, we praise Thy 
Name," as the procession wended its way 
back to the church, and parents and son 
joined in the glad chant. From that mo- 



368 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



ment the child became convalescent. To 
commemorate the miraculous event, the 
grateful parent on the next Corpus Christi 
erected another altar, but this time it bore 
the consoling inscription: "And Jesus gave 
him to his mother." 1 

In the writings of St. Angela Foligno, we 
read how wonderfully she was favored by 
God, in beholding our Blessed Lord in the 
Sacrament of His Love. Cardinal Bonelli 
and Pope Benedict XIV vouch for the au- 
thenticity of this fact. 

"One time/' she writes, "I saw the Lord 
in a consecrated Host in the shape of a 
child. He seemed to be a royal personage, 
carrying a scepter in His little hand. All 
this I noticed with my own eyes. Those 
who were present bowed low in adoration, 
but I simply looked and admired the holy 
countenance, full of majesty and kindness. 
I would have continued to gaze upon it for 
a long time, did not the priest place the 
Sacred Host in the tabernacle. I was 
overjoyed at the apparition, and felt per- 
fectly confident that what I saw was real. 



1 Tabernakelwacht, 1897. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 369 



The impression it made on me can never 
be effaced from my memory. 

"On another occasion during the Holy 
Sacrifice of the Mass I thus lovingly ad- 
dressed our Lord: 'My God, You are really 
and truly here in the blessed Sacrament, 
but tell me, where are Your friends?' 
An interior voice straightway answered: 
' Wherever I am, there are my friends.' 

"Jesus Christ has often manifested Him- 
self to my soul under different shapes and 
forms. Sometimes He has appeared to me 
in a brilliant form, with rays of light ema- 
nating from all parts of His sacred Body 
like the splendor of the mid-day sun. I 
am totally unable to describe it. My heart 
was so filled with heavenly joy and bliss 
that words fail to express my delight." 1 

The saints by often receiving their Savior 
were blessed with such a longing to possess 
Him that they actually suffered until that 
longing was satisfied. St. Teresa's desire 
for Holy Communion was so great that she 
used to say, that neither force nor sorrow 

1 Andacht 3. HI. Eucharistie by Huguet. Visions and 
Instructions, page 340. 



370 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



could deter her from receiving her divine 
Lord. St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi used to 
go to that part of the communion railing 
where the priest came first to distribute the 
Blessed Sacrament, in order to receive our 
Lord as quickly as possible. St. Philip 
Neri was often unable to sleep at night, on 
account of his desire to receive Holy Com- 
munion. One night as Father Galonio was 
about to give him Holy Communion, he 
held the Sacred Host in his hand for some 
time. At last St. Philip, unable to endure 
the delay any longer, cried out: " Antonio, 
why do you hold my Lord in your hand so 
long? Why do you not give Him to me? 
Why, why, give Him to me; give Him to 
me." It is also related that this saint, 
when taking the Precious Blood at Mass, 
used to press his lips to the chalice with 
such affection that it seemed as if he could 
not tear himself away from it. He thus 
gradually wore off the gilding on the rim of 
the chalice. But still more remarkable is 
that which is related of St. Alphonsus. 
Once, on Good Friday, being unable to 
receive Holy Communion, his affliction was 
so great that a violent fever came upon 
him and his life was endangered. The 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 371 



doctor came and bled him, but there was 
no improvement until the next day, when 
the saint learned that he could receive his 
Savior. On receiving this joyful news the 
fever immediately left him. 1 

Reflection 

"Son, give me thy heart," says Jesus in 
the tabernacle to every soul, "this is all the 
return I ask for bequeathing thee my legacy 
of love. I have given thee My body and 
blood, My soul and divinity, and wilt Thou 
not give Me thy heart? I ask nothing but 
what is in thy power to bestow; but I am 
a jealous lover, and if thou desirest to make 
Me an agreeable offering, thou must present 
Me a heart pure, undivided, and entirely 
detached from all created things." 

"My Savior, sprinkle me with Thy Pre- 
cious Blood, and lead me in the way of Thy 
Passion, and keep me beneath the shadow 
of Thy cross, that I may come near Thy 
altar seeking Thee." 

"My heart is ready, Lord, my heart is 
ready." 

^tt: Euch., page 355. 



jFocttetS Keatung ana Eeflectton 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Historical 

IN the diary of an old soldier we read an 
interesting account of how the Blessed 
Sacrament brought about his conversion. 
The Venerable Mary Joseph Geramb, a 
member of the Trappist Order, had been 
ex-General Baron Geramb to his Majesty 
the King of Austria. 

"Napoleon the First, surnamed the 
1 Scourge of God/ he writes, "on one oc- 
casion advanced towards the capital city 
of Turin, which had been evacuated at his 
approach by the reigning monarch. The 
following day I also left the city with those 
under my command. We were on the 
march all night. At daybreak, while con- 
ferring with my officers, I heard the tin- 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 373 



kling of a little bell, and looking in that 
direction noticed several persons walk in 
procession. Approaching the little group 
I learned that a venerable old priest was 
carrying the Blessed Sacrament. 'My 
God/ I exclaimed, 'It is Jesus.' My feel- 
ings at this moment can hardly be described. 
I realized that here was the God whom I 
had so long neglected and forgotten, seek- 
ing me out as it were on a public highway. 
This is Jesus whose sacred name I had been 
taught at my mother's knee, He whom I 
had so often invoked during the days of my 
youth. Without a moment's hesitation, I 
threw myself on my knees to adore my 
Savior, the Almighty God. Then I whis- 
pered to the priest, ' Father, I pray you, 
permit me to be your escort. Let me 
accompany our Blessed Lord by ordering 
my soldiers to honor Jesus, the King of 
Kings.' 

"The venerable priest agreed and escorted 
the Blessed Sacrament reverently through 
the village. I took the position of honor 
next to my Savior, who had showered so 
many benefits upon me in spite of the way 
I abused his kindness. What thoughts 
searched through my memory then! How 



374 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



fleeting seemed the happy days of my child- 
hood. In those far-off days Jesus was the 
only object of my love, the written story 
of His life my most precious possession, the 
repetition of His Holy Name my chief 
delight, the sight of His afflicted creatures 
the best recollection of His own dreadful 
Passion. My First Communion Day came 
vividly before my mind and I saw myself 
again approaching the altar with lighted 
candle to receive the Holy of Holies into my 
heart. But alas, those happy days had 
faded like a dream. A salutary fear began 
to come over me and instinctively I began 
to examine my previous life. What had 
become of my innocence and happiness? 
What had served to desecrate the exquisite 
work which God had made after His own 
image and likeness? How much had I 
left undone and how great the work still to 
do. What would become of me? Little 
wonder that my eyes filled with tears. 

"In solemn silence we moved forward, 
only the tramping of the horses and the call 
of the bugles sounding upon the morning 
air. In a short time we entered a small 
but neat home where a venerable old man 
was lying on a bed surrounded by his 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 375 



household. He was an army officer and 
had gained distinction for his valor and 
bravery. 

"'My dear son/ began the priest, 'al- 
though the good Lord has come to you 
to-day with a military escort He has not 
come as the Lord of battle but as the Lord 
of peace. Consign yourself to the arms of 
His mercy, offer Him your trophies of 
victories won, your pains and trials, and 
telling Him that your only hope is the 
cross. Say to Him, "I put my life into 
your hands, Lord; do with me what 
Thou wilt. If You decide to give me a 
few days more in this vale of tears, I am 
most willing to consecrate them entirely to 
You to atone for my past negligence and 
indifference.' 

"The sick man then received our Blessed 
Lord, the God of peace and love. After his 
thanksgiving was over the dying soldier sat 
up in his bed and raising his eyes toward 
heaven, said in a faltering voice: ' Gentlemen, 
at a moment when passion has subsided and 
earthly fame and glory have dwindled to 
naught, it is then a man feels that every- 
thing outside of loving and serving God is 
vanity and nothing but vanity. It was the 



376 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



serving of his king more than he had served 
his God that made the Marshal of Luxem- 
burg cry out on his death-bed these repent- 
ant words: "In lieu of the glory of all my 
victories ; for these are of no avail before the 
judgment seat of the Almighty, I would 
rather have the merit of having given in the 
name of Jesus a glass of cold water to one 
of His poor." ? 

"The dying man ceased speaking, but 
the impression caused by his words has 
never since left my soul. A dreadful fear 
came over me, and in fancy I seemed to 
foresee my eternal doom. That night when 
I retired the ghastly figure of death ap- 
peared before me: I heard his steps and 
saw him bend over me, and by the light of 
the torch looked into my face. I felt his 
icy grasp, and almost swooned away at the 
thought of his nearness. I even imagined 
myself cast into the fire which is kindled by 
the wrath of the just God with the awful 
inscription upon my brow 'No hope/ Satan 
seemed to hiss at me, 'Forever shall you 
burn/ and the fearful words seemed to re- 
echo through those dread confines of hell. 
Half dazed and sore distressed I raised my 
hands in suppliant attitude toward heaven 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 377 



and prayed as I had never prayed before: 
'Is it true that through my own foolishness 
I have lost my God? — Shall I never see 
Him, never gaze upon the One whom I 
would fain call Father? Shall I never be- 
hold the sweet face of Mary, Queen of 
heaven, and my Mother? Am I to be 
deprived forever of the sight of the counte- 
nance of her Blessed Son who had been so 
indulgent to me?' Sobs choked further 
utterance, but then came the thought that 
my time had not yet passed. In this vale 
of tears, there was One who was 'The Good 
Shepherd/ One who walked the weary 
wine-press to rescue the downtrodden, One 
who takes you up in His loving arms and 
presses you to His bosom, and that One is 
God. 

"Yes, though all others were to forget 
me, even to despise and malign me, He 
would not. The voice of the best of Fathers 
was ringing in my ears. The heart of Jesus 
was open to me to assuage my sorrow, and 
His Blood ready to blot out my iniquities. 
I was determined to belong to Him forever, 
and filled with this resolution I prayed thus: 
'0 Jesus, beloved of my soul, may my right 
hand wither away if I forget You, may my 



378 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



tongue cleave to my mouth if for an instant 
I prove untrue to my love.'" 1 

Father Hunolt of the Society of Jesus 
relates that two students were once dis- 
coursing about the hour of their death. 
They agreed that if God would allow it, he 
who should die first should appear to the 
other, telling him how he fared in the other 
world. Shortly afterwards one of the two 
died and appeared soon after to his fellow- 
student, shining bright with heavenly glory. 
In answer to the inquiries of his friend he 
said that by the mercy of God he was saved 
and in the possession of the bliss of heaven. 
The other congratulated him on his felicity, 
and asked him how he merited such un- 
speakable glory. "Chiefly," replied the 
happy soul, "by the care with which I en- 
deavored to receive Holy Communion with 
a pure heart." At these words the spirit 
disappeared, leaving in his surviving friend 
feelings of great consolation and an ardent 
zeal to imitate his devotion. 

"And even in our own days," says a pro- 
found thinker of our age, "in these times of 
1 Eichsfeld Volksblatt, No. 18, 1884. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 379 



persecution no less cruel, when the world 
has, as tyrants then had, its satellites, its 
amphitheatres, and its wild beasts, if you, 
men of the world, could interrogate all those 
Christians whose lives astonish you, because 
they seem to you so courageous and so diffi- 
cult, in the midst of the scandals of the 
day, the agitation of business and the se- 
ductions of the world; or if, penetrating into 
these abodes where the heroic devotion of a 
weak and delicate sex seems a daily miracle, 
you were to ask those pious women what it 
was that thus kept up their undying love, 
what gave them that pity that made them 
compassionate every misfortune, and that 
courage which no rebuffs could dishearten — 
well, on all sides from the lips of the true 
faithful, the fervent Christian, from all the 
saints of the Church you will receive this 
one answer: 'All courage, all strength, all 
charity, all consolation, all life, all happiness 
is given to us in the Holy Communion. 
The hour that we spend in the morning at 
the foot of the altar — that heavenly mo- 
ment, when the bread of angels is given to 
us — gives us strength for the whole day; 
and when we can only commune by desire, 
the days on which we are deprived of this 



380 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



angelic food seem to us, it is true, hard to 
bear; but the simple desire in itself sustains, 
fortifies, and encourages us. Yes, the 
Blessed Sacrament of itself would make 
us able to bear much more, for it is there 
we find the sacred fire that consumed the 
martyrs, and which can make lions of weak 
men." (M. l'Abbe Gerbet.) 

Reflection 

" Behold, I am with you all days/' Jesus 
says to us, "even to the consummation of 
the world. In the Holy Eucharist, I said to 
my apostles, and through them to all my 
children, 'I go away and come to you again; 
I will not leave you orphans, I will come to 
you.' 'I fulfill my promise by remaining 
with you in this Mystery of Love.' 'This 
is My resting place forever and here will 
I dwell, for I have chosen it.' I have 
chosen and sanctified this place that My 
name may be here forever and My heart 
may remain there perpetually. In this way 
I am with you at all times, and I will con- 
tinue to be with you to the end of ages. By 
day and by night, in riches and in poverty, 
in prosperity and in tribulation, behold, I 
am with you. My delight is to be with 



p ' 

FOR THE HOLY HOUR 381 



you, and I am with you in such a manner 
that at all times you can have access to Me, 
at every moment you may enjoy My sweet 
company. I sit on the altar as on a throne, 
to which My subjects can always approach 
with the fullest confidence of being heard. 
What a consolation, faithful soul, to re- 
member that your God is always with you. 
1 Truly there is no nation so great that hath 
its gods approaching it as your God is with 
you.' As I am with you, therefore, all days, 
will you not be all days of your life with 
Me in the Sacrament of My Love? When 
you cannot visit the temples where I reside, 
visit Me at least in spirit. Amid the trials 
of life, even should the whole world forsake 
you, remember that I am with you, that 
there still remains One loving heart into 
which you can pour all your sorrows with 
the certainty of receiving sympathy. 

a O most Holy Jesus, give me an upright 
and a just heart, that I may love Thee, the 
King of Jerusalem, and wait for Thy coming, 
and feed upon the Bread of God." 



jfotMttsrt Eeaamff ana l&etlectton 



THE REAL PRESENCE AS THE PHYSICIAN OF 
SOULS 



'HE truth of the following incident is 



A attested by an eyewitness in such a 
way as to leave no room for doubt. 

In Louisville, Kentucky, in the year 1885, 
it happened that a certain N. N. came to 
the monastery door and requested an inter- 
view with the pastor. The Brother-porter, 
recognizing the visitor, had some hesitation 
about allowing him to enter, since he dis- 
covered that he was a fallen-away Catholic, 
who for at least eighteen years had not seen 
the inside of a church and was notorious 
for his open hostility to religion. Doubtful, 
therefore, what might be the outcome of 
the visit, he stationed himself outside the 
door ready to give assistance if needed. 



Legenda 




FOR THE HOLY HOUR 383 



His fears, however, were groundless. Not 
only did the conversation sound very 
subdued, but at times it seemed confi- 
dential. A few hours after, the astonished 
brother saw pastor and visitor leisurely 
wending their way to the dining room 
for refreshments. Evidently, no harsh 
words had been spoken on either side, 
and when the man left the monastery his 
countenance bore a happier look than it 
had for years. 

What was the meaning of the unex- 
pected visit and reason of Mr. N's apparent 
change of sentiments of heart towards the 
monastery and all things holy? It meant 
simply another complete submission to the 
Church, another glorious reconciliation with 
God. 

Mr. N. N. had a twelve year old son who 
was as pure and innocent as an angel. The 
boy had been preparing to receive his First 
Holy Communion which was to take place 
the following Sunday. Having made his 
confession, he felt so happy in anticipation 
of the eventful day that he gladdened the 
heart of every one at home. His father, 
despite his antagonism to religion, could 
not help sharing in the boy's happiness, and 



384 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



so after dinner he thus addressed his son: 
"Ask any favor you wish from me to-day, 
my boy, no matter how costly it is, it shall 
be granted." 

For a few minutes the child considered 
the offer, and then with an ingenious smile 
upon his little face said: " Father, the most 
precious boon you can confer on me is to 
return to your God and mine, and receive 
Holy Communion with me to-morrow.' ' 
Words cannot describe the effect of this 
request upon the man who for years had 
neglected his religion and turned a deaf 
ear to the call of God. The strong 
man's heart was touched at the simple 
words of the child. Overcome by his feel- 
ings he left the house and going to the 
monastery made his peace with God. The 
next day the innocent child had the 
extreme happiness of seeing his repentant 
father partaking of the Divine Banquet 
to which he was admitted for the first 
time. 

From that time on Mr. N. N. was num- 
bered among the most fervent and exem- 
plary Catholics of the parish despite the 
taunts of his former associates. Thus had 
our divine Lord in the Blessed Sacrament 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 385 



again poured out His saving grace on the 
callous heart of a fallen-away Catholic. 1 

A singular account, confirmed by a priest 
of one of the Western States, was published 
in the "Leo Magazine " of 1882. This Rev- 
erend Father, noted for his whole-souled 
generosity and charity, died but a few years 
ago. 

It happened that one day a tattered and 
disreputable looking boy-tramp stopped at 
the rectory and begged for bread. The poor 
boy looked so wan and sick that the heart 
of the good priest was touched. Not only 
did he order a warm meal to be given to the 
little vagrant, but he assigned him a room 
in his own house and nursed him with the 
greatest care. It developed after a few 
days that the child's malady had grown 
very serious. In addition to his critical 
condition the wounds of his soul also de- 
manded immediate attention. The Father, 
with the exercise of much patience, finally 
succeeded in preparing him for confession 
and communion. Gladly did the little fel- 
low look forward to that joyous day. It 
dawned at last, and sick as he was, his 

1 Sendbote d. goetl. Hrz. Jesu, No. 7, 1885. 



386 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



eyes refused to stay closed after the first 
glimmer of daylight. Neatly dressed school 
children, carrying lighted candles, accom- 
panied the priest to the little room where 
the waif lay dying. It was a pathetic scene 
as the priest and the children grouped 
themselves around the bed preparatory 
to the sick child's receiving the Holy 
Viaticum. With wondering eyes, he gazed 
at his Lord, then the little tongue was 
purpled with the saving Blood and the 
happy boy clasped his hands over his 
heart. 

A few days after he passed to the land 
where all sorrow ceases. 

Months passed by, and the priest had 
to attend a sick call far from his home. 
Winter had thrown its billows of snow in 
great heaps over the fields and highways, 
but the good priest did not hesitate making 
the toilsome journey, especially since a 
soul's salvation was in question. After he 
had administered the Sacraments to the 
dying person he turned homeward, refusing 
all offers of assistance. The night was 
beautiful, the snow-covered earth reflecting 
on every side the brilliancy of the stars. 
Suddenly, however, as he proceeded the 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 387 



priest began to realize that he had lost his 
way. The road had disappeared in the 
drifts and there was no possibility of locat- 
ing himself. The priest struggled forward. 
But what is it that drags him down? Then 
the full realization of his difficulty began to 
dawn upon him : — he had fallen into a 
marshy swamp. The more he endeavored 
to extricate himself, the deeper he sank into 
its miry depths. As there seemed no loop- 
hole of escape, and no chance of any human 
power coming to his aid, he directed his 
mind in one swift thought to heaven and 
recommended his soul to God. Hardly 
had he uttered the prayer when a figure, 
surrounded by a brilliant light, appeared to 
his view. The apparition advanced, took 
the priest by the hand, and extricating him 
from the morass, conducted him to the right 
road. Then, as suddenly as it came, the 
figure vanished from his sight. The good 
priest positively affirmed that he believed 
it was no other than the little boy-tramp 
who came back to rescue the one who had 
given him his First Communion. 1 



1 Leo, No. 9, 1892. 



388 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



In the life of St. Hugo, Surius relates 
that a priest of a certain village in England, 
on breaking the Sacred Host one day at 
Mass, saw blood issuing from it. Filled 
with reverential awe, he determined to lead 
a holier life in the future, and following out 
his resolution soon became renowned for his 
sanctity. St. Hugo happened to stop at 
this village one day. The priest related 
this miracle to him and offered in proof to 
show him the cloths stained w T ith the mi- 
raculous blood. The holy Bishop, however, 
refused to look at them, and would not 
even allow his attendants to do so, saying 
that such wonders and sensible proofs were 
only for those who did not believe. And 
when he noticed in some of his attendants a 
desire to see them, he reprimanded them 
sharply, saying that this desire proceeded 
from curiosity rather than piety and that 
it was more perfect to believe without see- 
ing according to our Lord's own words, 
" Blessed are they that have not seen and 
yet believe/ ' 1 



1 Kirchenlexicon, Kessel. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 389 



Reflection 

Why does our Lord hide Himself under 
the outward appearances of bread and wine? 
Why does He not manifest Himself under 
the sensible qualities of His body, with His 
wounded hands, His merciful countenance, 
His radiant majesty? Our Lord does so 
that we may not lose the merit of faith. 
Were we to see Jesus Christ as he is seen by 
the blessed in heaven, we could no longer 
make an act of faith in His Real Presence, 
for 1 faith is the belief in the things we do 
not see.' Now our Lord wishes to bestow 
on us, after this life, a great reward for our 
faith, as He Himself has said: " Blessed are 
they that do not see and yet believe. " 
Many of the saints, in order not to lose the 
merit of their faith, have gone so far as to 
beg our Lord not to favor them with those 
consoling manifestations of Himself in the 
Blessed Sacrament which He sometimes 
granted to His chosen ones. 

From His Prison of Love Jesus speaks to 
us in this manner: "I am truly a hidden 
God in this Sacrament of my Love. All 
the splendor of My divinity is concealed, 
and although in my humanity I am beauti- 
ful above the sons of men, all this beauty is 



390 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



obscured by the veils which My Love for 
thee has drawn around it. It seems to be 
without life, or color, or shape, or motion. 
Yet such was my desire to be united to thee 
that I almost annihilated Myself. Do thou 
learn from hence to humble thyself as 
nothing in My sight. In this consists true 
glory and solid peace." 

"Hidden God, devoutly I adore Thee, 
Truly present underneath these veils; 

All my heart subdues itself before Thee, 
Since before Thee all faints and fails.' 1 



jfott^&econd i&eatifng ana Wittlettton 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

IN the year 1862 a Tyrolese mountain- 
climber wended his way down the jut- 
ting crags of his beloved country. He had 
chosen a perilous road, for being used to 
feats of daring, he gloried in traversing 
peaks that were unscalable to others. Soon 
he arrived at a narrow mountain pass, and 
with a swift gliding movement hid himself 
behind a clump of scraggly shrubs close to 
the road. The spot had evidently been 
selected for the purpose. A huntsman of 
no mean repute, and a plunderer by repu- 
tation, he was accustomed to absent himself 
from his associates for days and weeks. No 
mountain was too high for him to climb, no 
cliff too steep to scale, when in pursuit of 
an Alpine goat. But other thoughts en- 



392 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



gaged him to-night, for his mind was set 
upon murder. 

Avarice had gotten the better of him, and 
to accomplish his designs he was ready to 
commit a dastardly act. A rich merchant 
by the name of Andrew was to tread this 
mountain pass to-night on his way to the 
city of Salzburg, having in his wallet an 
enormous sum of money. This, then, was 
the reason for Anthony's stealthy trip. 

For hours he lay in wait for his victim. 
The night was already far spent, and the 
dawn about to break. "What delays him?" 
thought Anthony. "He must come this 
way; there is no other passage." And again 
he crouched beneath the bushes. 

Suddenly he heard footsteps. He reached 
for his gun, but as he did so violent trem- 
bling overcame him. What sound is that, 
which the night wind carries to his ears? 
Can it be the faint tinkling of a bell? A 
cold perspiration exudes from his forehead 
as he discerned two figures approaching. 
"0 Jesus and Mary," he said half aloud, "it 
is a priest accompanied by his sexton, carry- 
ing the Blessed Sacrament to the dying." 
As the holy man with his sacred burden 
drew nearer, Anthony cried out: "Jesus, 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 393 



have mercy. " Then he rushed from his 
hiding place, and threw himself at the feet 
of God's minister. Confessing his crime 
with sentiments of sorrow and contrition, 
he received absolution from that conse- 
crated hand. Then, with heavenly peace 
imprinted on his countenance, he begged to 
accompany the priest to the bedside of the 
dying man. On the road they met Andrew, 
whom God had saved in a wonderful way 
from a terrible fate. 

Anthony, now converted from his evil ways, 
became an exemplary Christian. Some years 
later he was in the front line of battle, fight- 
ing for his country against the Italian in- 
vader Garibaldi, when an enemy's bullet 
soon laid him low, and he died the death of 
a hero. When his effects at home were 
examined a small package was found bear- 
ing these words: "For God's sake do not 
open this till after my death." The cord 
binding it was cut and there were found two 
letters, one for Andrew, the merchant, in 
which there was an acknowledgment of 
the dead man's dire purpose that dreadful 
night long ago, — the other for the parish 
priest, asking for a memento in his prayers. 

This narrative, founded on fact, shows 



394 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



the exceeding power of the Blessed Sacra- 
ment, and the infinite mercy of the Sacred 
Heart in the Holy Eucharist. 1 

• • 

A European magazine published under 
the title of " God's Holy Presence/' in 1884, 
makes mention of the following: 

"It is indeed a sad state of affairs to see 
how many Christians are devoid of all de- 
votion and reverence during the Holy Sac- 
rifice of the Mass. Their behavior proves 
how small is their faith in the presence of 
our God on our altar. Many of these so- 
called followers of Christ are often put to 
shame by unbelievers, who, on entering a 
Catholic Church, feel the nearness of the 
Almighty, and in deep humility prostrate 
themselves to adore the hidden God. For 
proof of this we give an account of a Turk's 
conversion. 

"As a member of a delegation sent by the 
Sultan to a prince of the West, I had occa- 
sion to spend some time in Rome. On one 
of my rambles through the city I chanced to 
come across St. Peter's, and to pass away 
the time more than anything else I entered 

lEichsfeld Volksblatt, No. 7, 1883. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 395 



the grand edifice. For the first time in my 
life I witnessed the celebration of the Mass, 
and regarded it as a very spectacular drama 
enacted by the priest. In fact, the whole 
was not to my liking. However, as the 
Mass progressed an indescribable feeling 
came over me, and I remained immovable, 
riveting my eyes on the altar as if by a 
strange sort of fascination. Was it perhaps 
the influence of the devout people around 
me? Soon after I heard the sound of a little 
bell. A breathless silence ensued. Even 
those who seemed distracted sank on their 
knees bowing reverently struck their breasts. 
The words of Scripture rushed suddenly to 
my mind. 

"'Take off thy shoes, for the spot upon 
which thou standest is holy/ and, to my 
amazement, the next moment I was on my 
knees, bowing low in adoration. What was 
it that affected me so forcibly at that in- 
stant? No bewitching melody, for there 
was no singing; nor the forcible words of 
an eloquent preacher, for the stillness was 
oppressive, broken only by the tinkling of 
a little bell. 'What was it that spoke to 
me?' was the question I addressed to a 
Catholic priest the next day. 



396 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



"'It was the Presence of God, my son/ 
answered the good Father. 'God Himself, 
although hidden to your eyes, was present 
on the altar. He spoke to you although you 
heard not His voice. He addressed your 
understanding and your heart. He invited 
you to open your eyes and reflect. A mar- 
velous and sublime wonder was enacted on 
the altar, and by the eyes of faith you 
saw it.' 

"In the depths of my soul I realized the 
truth of these words but my stubborn will 
refused to submit. Finally however, grace 
conquered my hardened heart and I had the 
inexpressible happiness of joining the mil- 
lions of Catholics in adoring the hidden 
God. 

"How is it possible that anyone can assist 
at Holy Mass without devotion, or by his 
conduct distract and scandalize others, when 
he believes that God Almighty is present on 
the altar. " 



The Blessed Nicholas Fattori, a Francis- 
can Friar remarkable for his piety and 
purity of heart, often saw Jesus Christ in 
the consecrated Host in the form of m 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 397 



infant. On touching the Blessed Sacra- 
ment, he seemed to feel not the mere Eu- 
charistic species, but the very flesh of Jesus 
Christ our Lord and sovereign Good. On 
this account he used to present his fingers 
to those who wished to kiss his hand, say- 
ing: "Kiss these fingers with great respect, 
for they are sanctified by the real contact 
with Jesus Christ. " It is also related that 
when this holy man was in the presence of 
the Blessed Sacrament he used to rejoice 
as a child in the presence of its mother. 1 

Goerres, in his celebrated work entitled, 
"Christian Mysticism," states that there 
have been many holy persons, who have 
had a supernatural instinct by which they 
were sensible of the Presence of Jesus Christ 
in the Blessed Sacrament even when it was 
hidden and at a distance from them. 

Blessed Ida of Louvain was always sen- 
sible to the presence of our Lord at the pre- 
cise moment of consecration. Once when 
the server at Mass had by mistake given the 
priest water instead of wine, so that there 
was no consecration, St. Coleta, though 

1 Eichsfeld Volksblatt, No. 4, 1884. 



398 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



kneeling at a distance, perceived it by a 
supernatural instinct. 

The Cistercian Juliana always knew when 
the Blessed Sacrament was moved from St. 
Martin's church at the close of the service, 
and each time she was overwhelmed with 
sadness. This fact was frequently wit- 
nessed by her friend Eva. One day the 
Franciscans of Villonda invited the holy 
Carmelite Cassetus to visit them, and to 
try him they took the Blessed Sacrament 
out of the tabernacle in which it was usually 
kept and placed it elsewhere. They put no 
light before it, but left the lamp burning 
as usual before the customary altar. On 
entering the church, the companion of 
Cassetus turned towards the high altar, 
but Cassetus immediately pointed out the 
spot where the Blessed Sacrament had been 
placed, saying: "The Body of our Lord is 
there, and not where the lamp is burning. 
The brother whom you see behind the 
curtain has placed it there in order to 
try us." 

St. Francis Borgia had the same gift, and 
on entering a church, he walked straight 
to the spot where the Blessed Sacrament 
was kept, even when no external sign 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 399 



j indicated its presence. In 1839 Prince 
Licknowsky visited Mary Moerl, the cele- 
brated Tyrolese Virgin, upon whom God 
had bestowed so many miraculous gifts. 
While she was kneeling in ecstasy on her 
bed he observed that she moved around 
towards the window. Neither he nor any 
of those present could tell the cause of it. 
At last, on looking out, they saw a priest 
passing by with the Viaticum, without a 
bell or chant, or any sound that could give 
notice of his approach. 1 

Reflection 

It was love, and love alone, which in- 
duced Jesus our Redeemer to remain among 
us in the Blessed Sacrament. O Jesus, 
most sweet Jesus, hidden under the Sacra- 
mental Species, give me such love and hu- 
mility that I may be able lovingly to speak 
of this invention of boundless love, that all 
who hear it may begin to love Thee in reality. 
I Praised forever be Jesus in the adorable 
Sacrament of the Altar. 

"I have loved, Lord, the beauty of Thy 
house; and the place where Thy glory 
dwelleth." 

1 Heiligen Lexicon Bd. III. 



400 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



"How lovely are Thy tabernacles, Lord 
of hosts! My soul longeth and fainteth for 
the courts of the Lord." 

" Blessed are they that dwell in Thy house, 
Lord: they shall praise Thee for ever and 
ever." 



jFottg^&fcti Keadtng anti Inflection 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

JOSEPH ALERTUS, author of " Social- 
ism and the Church/' relates in his book 
the following incident. 

"In a certain city of Germany situated 
on the River Rhine, I one day made the 
acquaintance of an artist. As our friend- 
ship for each other grew, I was attracted 
by his great love and devotion of the Blessed 
Sacrament, and I was very much surprised 
when I heard that he was a convert. I 
therefore asked him to give me a brief 
history of his submission to the Church of 
Rome, whereupon he told me the following: 
"'My father was an official in Dresden, 
and, though we lived on moderate means, 
all went well with our family till my parents' 
death. A small capital was left to me as 



402 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



my inheritance and my brother, who was 
many years my senior, was appointed my 
guardian. He placed me as an apprentice 
with a lithographer and furnished me with 
necessary funds whenever I needed them. 
Further than this he did not bother with 
me. As a result I was very lonely and 
many sorrowful hours I spent in my little 
room. One day when overwhelmed with 
grief, I wandered into a Catholic church 
and immediately I felt that peace had again 
taken possession of my soul. Day after 
day, I found myself directing my steps 
thither, and though I still attended the 
Protestant church on Sundays to join the 
hymns and listen to the sermon, I felt nearer 
to God in the Catholic place of worship. 

'"One day my guardian came to me with 
the unwelcome news that my share of the 
inheritance was entirely used up and that 
I must manage for myself. Almost dis- 
tracted, I sought my room to give vent to 
my sorrow. For a while I managed to sub- 
sist on stale bread and water, but with all 
my economy, my cash account was running 
so low that I had scarcely enough left to 
buy a roll. I felt that I could not go to my 
brother, for his hard-heartedness was un- 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 403 



bearable to me. Poverty simply stared 
me in the face and in my dilemma I again 
turned my steps to the Catholic church. 
Entering I knelt down before the altar and 
prayed most fervently, laying bare all my 
troubles before the Most High God. Sud- 
denly I grew calm and went back to my 
workshop. To my surprise I was hardly 
there when the superintendent sent for me, 
telling me that he would in the future give 
me a salary every week, as my work had 
proved satisfactory. I still continued to 
pay my visits to the Blessed Sacrament, 
although the thought of becoming a Cath- 
olic had never entered my mind. When I 
was eighteen I saved enough money to take 
a course in the academy of Munich. 

It happened that on a cold and blustery 
November evening, I sat near a window in 
one of the well-known beerstubes of Munich, 
sipping the beverage of the country. Sud- 
denly the sound of a bell attracted my 
attention and I saw a priest, preceded by 
two torch-bearers, carrying the Blessed Sac- 
rament to some sick person. Usually sev- 
eral people acted as escort to our divine 
Lord on such a journey, but it seemed the 
bad weather had proved a drawback. Then 



404 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



a sudden thought flashed through my mind: 
if there was no Catholic to accompany the 
priest on his way, could I not give honor to 
the Lord by my presence! Immediately I 
left the place, and, bareheaded, followed the 
holy man into the narrow street where 
the dying one lived. As was his custom, 
the priest raised the Blessed Sacrament in 
Benediction before entering the house, and, 
overcome by a strange impulse, I sank on 
my knees before it. At that moment the 
grace of God struck my heart. I felt that 
I was face to face with my Maker. When 
I arose from the pavement, I had resolved 
to become a Catholic. The next day I 
put my resolution into practice by begin- 
ing a series of instructions under the direc- 
tion of a priest. My lasting gratitude is 
due to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.'" 1 

A man grown gray in years and in sin 
was one time roaming about the hilltops of 
his native land. It was a dark night and 
so thick was the mist that he soon lost his 
way and knew not whither to turn. How- 
ever, had he only known it, his own home 
town lay directly before him in the valley. 
In his dilemma he stopped, and as he 

1 Socialism and the Church by Allertus. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 405 



looked, his heart beat rapidly with a sudden 
fear. What was that that appeared through 
the darkness? The gleam of a light shot 
forth and pierced the shadows. Straining 
his eyes he looked in amazement, for it sud- 
denly occurred to him that that was the 
sanctuary lamp of his own parish church, 
the interior he had not seen for years. 
Forthwith his conscience began to upbraid 
him, and as if in a mirror he saw all the 
blemishes and ghastly sores that disfigured 
his soul. 

His First Communion Day with all its 
joy and spiritual gladness loomed up before 
his mind, and then he thought of the after- 
days and his waywardness through the 
example of wicked companions. All this 
while the glimmering light in the distance 
seemed to burn its message into his very 
soul. 

Overcome by remorse and filled with com- 
punction of heart, he directed his steps 
toward its flickering beam. As the hour 
was now late he knew that it would be use- 
less to seek admittance, but instead he knelt 
on the hard stone before the church door 
and with humble sighs told his heart's story 
to God. When morning dawned he sought 



406 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



the priest, and after a sincere confession 
received the Holy Sacrament of the altar. 
Not long after he died the death of the just, 
having been called to the path of righteous- 
ness by the faint glimmer of the sanctuary 
lamp. 1 

• • 

Blessed Margaret of the Blessed Sacra- 
ment, a Carmelite nun who lived in France, 
as stated by her biographer, was one day 
suffering great pain. Her sisters wishing to 
ascertain whether she could really find re- 
lief in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, 
to which she had a singular devotion, car- 
ried her at first to several places in which 
the Holy Eucharist was not kept, and ex- 
horted her to pray to Jesus Christ. On 
every occasion she, however, answered in a 
plaintive voice, "I do not find my Savior 
here," and addressing herself to Him, she 
said, "My Lord, I do not find here Thy di- 
vine truth," entreatingly she besought the 
sisters to carry her into the presence of the 
Blessed Sacrament. 

When St. Louis, King of France, was on 
his death-bed, he was asked by the priest 

1 Eichsfeld Volksblatt, No. 40, 1882. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 407 



who brought him the Viaticum, whether he 
really believed that Jesus Christ, the Son of 
God, was present in the Host. The saint, 
collecting all his strength, answered with a 
loud voice: "I believe it as firmly as if I 
saw Him present in the Host, just as the 
apostles saw Him when He ascended glori- 
ously into heaven." 1 

Reflection 

Sacred Banquet, in which the soul is 
replenished with graces and receives a pledge 
of future glory. God of my salvation, I 
rest calm in the assurance that if I worthily 
receive this food, I have nothing to fear. 
Thy mercy will overshadow me all the 
days of my life. Under Thy protection no 
enemy can afflict me, nor trouble cloud my 
soul. Even if armies in battle array should 
rise against me, why should I fear? If 
God is with me, who shall be against me? 

1 believe, Lord, that Thou art present 
both Body and Soul in the adorable Sacra- 
ment. Change the indifference of my heart 
into an ardent desire of loving Thee. Sup- 
ply in me whatever faith is wanting in a 
mystery so incomprehensible to human un- 

1 Memoires by Rev. Father Poesel, C.SS.R. 



408 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



derstanding. Enliven me with a lively be- 
lief in Thy sacred Presence and grant that 
my heart may receive Thee reverently as 
its God, may receive Thee with confidence 
as its Savior, may receive Thee with love as 
its Father. 

"Jesus, teach me the hidden secrets of Thy love." 



JFortpsjFotttt!) Iftea&utji ana Inflection 



THE REAL PRESENCE AS MERCIFUL SAVIOR 

Legenda 

IN a small town in one of the Eastern 
States the children of a public school 
were about to make their First Holy Com- 
munion. The happy day had arrived and 
the priest was addressing a few final salu- 
tary words to the eager little ones. In elo- 
quent though simple terms he explained to 
them how marvelous were the graces that 
would be showered on their souls when 
Jesus came to their hearts for the first time, 
and besought them to try always to preserve 
their innocence in spite of the wickedness of 
the world. 

"You know/' he continued, "that one of 
your number is missing from this happy 
crowd to-day. You have heard how sud- 
denly he was taken sick and how quickly 



410 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



he left your midst, but as he entertained a 
great yearning to receive this great Sacra- 
ment I administered Holy Communion to 
him on his death-bed. He died shortly 
after. Do not fail, my children, to pray for 
this little companion of yours to-day and 
also for his poor widowed mother. It will 
be, indeed, a day of unalloyed joy for your 
dear parents when you return home to them 
with Jesus in your hearts. All the sorrow 
and trouble you have caused them hereto- 
fore will be forgotten, all the anxiety they 
bore for you in your baby years, all the 
worry you caused them even till to-day, — 
all will be forgiven. Nothing will cloud 
their joy, but this poor widowed mother, 
what of her? To-day brings her nothing 
but sorrow, since this afternoon we are to 
consign to the tomb the mortal remains of 
her son." 

Not a dry eye remained in the church 
when the good priest concluded his sermon, 
and that afternoon saw the entire body of 
the First Communicants following the corpse 
to the cemetery. Evening came and the 
widowed mother heard a timid little rap at 
the door. "Who can it be?" she thought 
to herself, and in another moment a young 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 411 



boy with an honest face and bright eyes 
stood before her. 

" Are you coming, Anthony, to comfort me 
in my loneliness?" said Mrs. Veronica. "I 
know that my poor Felix was your friend.' ' 

" Felix was, indeed, my friend," responded 
Anthony, "and I feel my loss even more 
keenly since I listened to the pastor's words 
this morning on the great happiness our 
parents experience to-day and the sorrow 
that is in your heart. And as I prayed for 
you and Felix, the thought came to me that 
I ought to make some sacrifice for the good 
Jesus who came to visit me. So I asked 
my father to allow me to take five dollars 
of my savings, to give to you. Please accept 
it," and with these words Anthony slipped 
the gold piece into the widow's hand. The 
good lady, deeply touched, thus made grate- 
ful acknowledgment: "God bless you a 
thousand times, my child. May the mem- 
ory of this noble deed of your First Com- 
munion Day accompany you all through 
life and, like your guardian angel, protect 
you from all evils of body and soul." 

But the widow's prayer did not save the 
boy at a time when he was merging into 
manhood. As long as Anthony was at 



412 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



home with his parents no temptation came 
in his way. He attended to his religious 
duties most fervently, and on all occasions 
was exemplary in his conduct. After hav- 
ing learned his trade, however, he left his 
parental home and went to St. Louis, where 
it was his misfortune to associate with un- 
believers and reprobates. Abandoning all 
his pious practices, Anthony soon became as 
dissipated and as godless as the others. It 
was not long till he was prostrated with 
hasty consumption and sent to a hospital 
to die. Priest, doctor, and Sisters of Char- 
ity did their utmost to persuade their 
patient to make his peace with God but all 
to no avail. Curses and blasphemies were 
the only answer to their entreaties. 

But one day a strange visitor advanced 
to his bedside. It was an old woman bent 
with age, and supporting herself on a crutch. 
" Don't you know me?" asked the grey- 
haired lady in a feeble voice. " Don't you 
know Veronica the widow? I am she, at 
present an inmate of this institution. Some- 
one told me yesterday that you were here 
very sick. As this was my last and only 
chance, I determined to call to-day to thank 
you once more for your gift to me on your 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 413 



! First Communion Day. I have been pray- 
ing for you. And not only that, but I am 
sure my dear Felix who was buried on that 
day, and your good parents who have since 
followed him to eternity, have remembered 

i you before the throne of God." 

"Oh, say no more, I beg of you," cried 
out the repentant Anthony, weeping bit- 
terly. "If I had only persevered and 
preserved the innocence of my First 
Communion Day!" 
But there is a way to return to God when 

i we have strayed away, and gladly did 
Anthony now seek that way. His heart 
was no longer closed to divine grace. The 
priestly hand was soon raised to give him 
absolution, and our forgiving Savior came 
to him in the Sacrament of the Holy Eu- 
charist. Thus strengthened, he delivered 
his repentant soul into the hands of his 
Maker, nevermore to take it back. 

How beautiful an instance is this of God's 
mercy to a boy who performed a noble deed 
on his First Communion Day. 1 

During the terrible days of the " Com- 
mune," 1871, in Paris a little boy, scarcely 
iEichsfeld Volksblatt, No. 13, 1893. "Pelican," 1884. 



414 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



ten years old, was an acolyte at the cele- 
brated church, "Our Lady of Victory.' ' 
Although so young he was a great lover of 
the Prisoner of the Tabernacle, and it was 
his greatest delight to serve at the altar. 
Every nook and corner of this magnificent 
church was as familiar to him as his own 
home. 

One morning after Mass he overheard a 
conversation in the sacristy by the priests, 
who discussed the probability of an attack 
on the church by the Communists. On 
previous occasions these godless men had 
desecrated the Blessed Sacrament in sev- 
eral churches of the capital. The pious 
boy shuddered at the thought that the same 
outrage might be committed at his church. 
From the conversation of the priests the 
boy understood that the Blessed Sacrament 
would be removed from the high altar to 
the altar of St. Peter situated in one of the 
chapels. 

With a lighted taper in hand the little 
acolyte walked reverently before the priest, 
who bore the precious burden from the 
main altar to the chapel of St. Peter. The 
boy was very much grieved to see our dear 
Lord driven from His magnificent and costly 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 415 



home to a less attractive habitation and 
while pondering over this condition, a happy 
thought struck the little knight of the 
Blessed Sacrament. He would remain with 
the Blessed Sacrament all night after the 
rest had gone. Entirely disregarding his 
youth and feebleness, he accordingly took 
his station before the tabernacle to watch 
and pray lest Jesus should be made the 
victim of these wicked men. 

Within a short time the robbers made 
their appearance. Cursing and yelling they 
broke into the beautiful church, and di- 
rected their steps to the altar, where but a 
short time before Mass had been offered. 
The little sentinel trembled with excite- 
ment. He heard them break open the door 
of the tabernacle and on finding it empty 
pour forth horrid curses with threats of 
searching every nook and corner till the 
golden vessels were found. 

After noticing the robbers tramping from 
chapel to chapel amid the vilest blasphemies 
uttered on account of their disappointment, 
he heard them coming closer to the chapel 
of St. Peter. His love for our Savior made 
him ready to risk anything to save the 
Blessed Sacrament. Our Lord requited the 



416 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



desire of this innocent child's heart by in- 
spiring him with the thought of immediately 
going to the sacristy to secure the key, 
which he found at the usual place. Having 
unlocked the tabernacle he took out the 
ciborium and with all possible speed car- 
ried it to his home. Without being no- 
ticed he went up several flights of stairs 
until he reached the nursery, which was 
entirely deserted with the exception of his 
brother, a four year old child. 

Having deposited the ciborium on a 
table, the brave little knight most pro- 
foundly genuflected and after uncovering 
the sacred vessel asked his little brother to 
eat the precious Food, offering him one 
sacred Host after another until the cibo- 
rium was empty. Although he had an ar- 
dent desire to partake of the heavenly Food 
himself, he yet considered himself unworthy, 
not having been to confession. The heart 
of his innocent little brother became the 
tabernacle of the great Lord of heaven and 
earth. 1 

In the time of the penal laws of England 
under Queen Elizabeth, a Catholic noble- 

1 Tabernacle and Purgatory, Vol. 9, page 212. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 417 



man was fined four hundred crowns for 
having received Holy Communion. Re- 
gardless of the iniquitous law, however, he 
continued to communicate, cheerfully pay- 
ing the fine each time he was detected, al- 
though he was thereby obliged to sell two 
of his best estates. He declared that he 
never spent any money with greater joy 
than that he was obliged to pay for the 
privilege of receiving his Lord. Still more 
affecting is the example which is related of 
a dying man, in the time of St. Charles 
Borromeo, Archbishop of Milan. A dread- 
ful pestilence had broken out in the city 
and a certain man in the hospital of St. 
Gregory, having been attacked by it, was 
soon reduced to the last extremity. In this 
state he was carried to a place where the 
dead bodies were thrown before being 
buried. Life, however, was not yet quite 
extinct, and after a night spent in this 
horrible situation, he heard in the morning 
the sound of a bell announcing the approach 
of the Blessed Sacrament. Seized with an 
ardent desire of receiving his Savior, he 
extricated himself with great difficulty from 
the dead bodies that were piled upon him, 
and crawling to the feet of the priest who 



418 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



carried the Holy Viaticum, conjured him to 
give him Holy Communion. The priest, 
touched with compassion, immediately com- 
municated him, but the efforts the poor 
man had made were too much for his feeble 
strength, and while his lips were still moving 
in prayer, and his eyes looking up to heaven, 
he fell back cold and lifeless at the feet of 
the priest. 1 

Reflection 

Christ compels no man to receive Him, 
nor yet does He deny Himself to anyone who 
approaches the Holy Sacrament with con- 
trite heart. He ardently desired that all 
who thirst for the water of eternal life 
should come and drink freely. The great 
St. Chrysostom pictures Christ thus speak- 
ing to us and saying: "I do violence to no 
one, I draw no one, but if anyone comes to 
Me willingly and promptly, him I invite." 
Let us come then to have our thirst allayed 
with the never-failing waters which lead to 
eternal life. 

*"Let us approach the Holy Eucharist with 
an ardent desire," says Euthycius. "Let 
us not be sluggish or dilatory. Before we 

^tt: Euch., page 672. 



! 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 419 



partake of the Body and Blood of our Lord, 
let us pour forth our hearts in earnest de- 
sire. It is the pious practice of some to 
turn their minds at every hour of the day 
toward Christ dwelling in the Blessed Sac- 
rament, and to tell Him how much they 
long to receive Him. If this practice seems 
wearisome to us, at least let us make as- 
pirations of ardent desire before Holy Com- 
munion, so that when Jesus comes to us He 
may not feel unwelcome. 'For Thee my 
soul hath thirsted, my God, for Thee my 
flesh hath pined in countless ways.' " 




jFottg*jftCtf) IBUatunff and Inflection 



THE REAL PRESENCE AS AVENGER 

Legenda 

ONE stormy night in April, in the year 
1852, a crowd of students was gath- 
ered in the cafe in a large University town. 
As might be supposed, their licentious revelry 
and conviviality lasted till the small hours 
of the morning. At last the party broke 
up, only to seek their homes in a very hila- 
rious state of mind. One young man in 
particular conceived the idea of playing a 
huge joke. As he passed the priest's house, 
he ran up the steps and violently pulled the 
bell. After a few moments the good man 
responded to the call, and was met by the 
words: " Hurry, Father, hurry! A man 
lies dying at No. 25 N . . . Street, two 
flights up. Do not tarry or it will be too 
late." Obedient to the summons, the priest 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 421 



immediately hurried away to get the Blessed 
Sacrament while the impious young man, 
laughing heartily, rejoined his companions. 
Arrived at the house with the Sacred Bur- 
den, the minister of God found that his 
mission had been a useless one, for instead 
of anyone being sick he was laughed to 
scorn for his pains. Thinking perhaps that 
he had mistaken the number, he repaired 
to several houses in the neighborhood, only 
to meet the sneers of the ungodly. 

But what became of the student who had 
caused his God in the Blessed Sacrament 
such profanation? Though gifted with bril- 
liant talents, he now began to fail from day 
to day. In preparing for examination, those 
answers which had hitherto seemed mere 
play work baffled his comprehension. Day 
after day he lost strength perceptibly, and 
soon his health was impaired both physically 
and mentally. Earnestly did his parents 
and friends entreat him to make his peace 
with God and at last he gave his consent. 

Again the night was dark and stormy and 
the skies were leaden grey, while the winds 
whistled and raged about the sick man's 
house. On such a night as this two years 
ago he had subjected his God to infamous 



422 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



treatment, and now the same God is being 
carried to him by the very one he had in- 
sulted. Hardly had the good priest crossed 
the threshold, however, when he was told 
the sorrowful news of the young man's 
death. Yea, verily, he already stood be- 
fore that Judge of whom he had made a 
laughing-stock years ago. Already his sen- 
tence had been pronounced, — was it life 
or death for all eternity? 1 

Bernard, a pious Dominican friar, dwelt 
in his convent of Santarem, in Portugal, 
and his duty was to tend to the sacristy. 
Now it happened that he had charge of two 
little boys from the neighborhood, whom he 
taught to serve the priests of the Order at 
Holy Mass. As they were too young to be 
received into the convent, they went home 
to their parents at night, but during the day 
they barely quitted the monastery. Ber- 
nard had the tenderest affection for the 
children, and, as a reward for their good con- 
duct, he taught them not only the catechism, 
but also the first rudiments of grammar; 
moreover he brought them up very piously, 

1 Eichsfeld Volksblatt, No. 4, 1883. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 423 



instilling into their tender minds a great love 
for the Blessed Sacrament and for the 
Mother of God. Each morning the boys 
used to bring with them a little refreshment, 
consisting of bread and fruit, which, Holy 
Mass being ended, they took in a little side 
chapel. In this chapel there was an image 
of the Blessed Virgin with the Divine Infant 
in her arms. Now the little boys never 
omitted to greet the Infant Jesus with a 
salutation, and, at last, one day, the Divine 
Child whose delight it is to dwell among the 
lilies, condescended to come down from His 
Mother's arms, and to ask them to give Him 
of their food. With joy they invited the 
fair Child to join their meal, who henceforth 
was their frequent companion. 

On the Feast of the Ascension Blessed 
Bernard prayed with more than usual fervor, 
and then, his face shining like that of an angel, 
with the boys at his side, he went up to the 
altar to say Mass; when the Holy Mysteries 
were ended, Bernard prostrated himself on 
the steps of the altar, signing to the two 
boys to do in like manner. As they tarried 
long in deep prayer a sweet sleep overcame 
them, and so they went to the feast of Eternal 
Life. This happened in the year 1265, 



424 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



When the brethren, according to custom, 
went into the choir, they found the three 
bodies prostrate upon the steps of the altar, 
the priest in his vestments, the boys in their 
white surplices, and their faces shining with 
heavenly beauty. Finding them lifeless the 
confessor of Blessed Bernard was commanded 
to give as far as he could, some account of 
so extraordinary a passing away; and, in 
presence of the whole community, he related 
what had happened to the children, and what 
the Lord had promised them. 1 

It is related that a priest was once on his 
way to administer the last rites of the 
church to a dying person who lived on the 
outskirts of the city. On his way thither 
he met a man, known throughout the en- 
tire country for his wicked and dissipated 
life. As soon as the latter noticed the priest 
hastening reverently on his way, he began 
to curse the Blessed Sacrament, and then 
turned aside into the woods to avoid passing 
it. Without noticing the man, both priest 
and sexton pursued their course, eager to 
reach the bedside of the dying before it was 

1 Diario, Dominic. Boll., 8 Mai. Ott: Eucharisticum. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 425 



too late. Their duty done, they returned 
by the same way they had come, but to 
their astonishment when they reached the 
identical spot where they had met the im- 
pious man, they heard pitiful cries for help. 
The priest hurried in the direction of the 
sound and found the blasphemer lying in a 
pool of blood flowing from a ghastly wound. 
He had stumbled over the root of a tree, 
and had fallen, striking his head against a 
sharp jutting stone. " Indeed, the Lord is 
just," he moaned piteously. "I wanted 
to escape bending my knee, and that is 
why I turned my steps into the thicket, 
venting curses on God all the way. But 
now, blessed be his Holy Name, the curse 
has fallen upon myself." Humble and re- 
pentant, he received the Sacrament and 
died a few days later. 1 

The devotion of the Catholics of Africa, 
and especially of Uganda, is wonderful to 
see. The children are deeply imbued with 
the spirit of faith, and there is hardly an 
hour when you will not find a group of 
them reverently gathered before the taber- 
nacle. They say they are " Paying homage 
to the King," and they cut short their play 

1 "Pelican/' 1890. 



426 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



or run upon their errands in order to spend 
an hour with the hidden Lord. 

No matter how hard these people have 
to work, there is always a crowd of them 
waiting in the darkness for the chapel to 
open, and the early morning mass is always 
well attended. At six o'clock the war tam- 
bourine sounds to call the people to mass, 
for of course bells are unknown in the in- 
terior of Africa. In other days the same 
sound would bring warriors armed for bat- 
tle, but now it only calls them "To pay 
homage to the King." 

Sunday is a great day for all the Chris- 
tians. At the sound of the tambourine the 
natives come from their huts arrayed all in 
white. It is a wonderful spectacle. Whiter 
than snow in their immaculate gowns, 
fathers, mothers and children descend from 
their cabins and circle the valley, following 
the course of the river, and as they draw 
nearer the chapel not a word is spoken. 
But in the church, every eye is fixed in 
deepest recollection upon the tabernacle, 
the throne of the King they love so well. 
Not a head is turned. Not a smile escapes 
to greet a friend as they chant the Liturgical 
Litany in perfect unison. When this ser- 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 427 



vice is over, they file out just as reverently, 
and talking quietly now return happily to 
their huts. As the sun goes down, the 
tambourine rolls again, and men, women 
and children stop where they are to pray 
the angelus. Then all assemble again for 
the last act of their day, night prayers 
in the chapel, and from the oldest to the 
youngest every heart is lifted in thanks- 
giving, in one last act of " Homage to the 
King." 

Reflection 

According to the testimony of the Canti- 
cle of Canticles, is not Christ all love? 
And if we desire beauty, is He not the 
most beautiful? If we look for goodness, 
is He not God, whose nature is goodness? 
All lovely is He, not only as regards His 
divinity, but also as regards His humanity. 
From the beginning of His conception to the 
triumph of His Passion, Death, Resurrec- 
tion and Ascension, we hail Him as the 
Most High God. Hugh the Cardinal says: 
" Christ is all lovely in Himself and His 
members, and worthy to be sought and 
desired. The angels recognize in Him all 
beauty and grace, and therefore they desire 



428 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



to behold Him more and more. Zacchaeus 
thought Christ all fair, when, eagerly de- 
sirous of seeing Him, he climbed into a syca- 
more tree to behold his God as He passed. 
Mary Magdalen sought Him and mourned 
in her seeking, saying: 'They have taken 
away my Lord and I know not where they 
have laid Him/ Finally, if heaven and 
earth, angels and men, have desired Him, 
ought we not to long to be united to that 
same God in the Most Holy Sacrament of 
the Eucharist? " 

" What have I in heaven and besides Thee, 
O Lord, what do I desire on earth? For 
Thee my flesh and heart have fainted away." 




jfott^&feti) Keatung anti Wittltction 



THE REAL PRESENCE AS DIVINE PHYSICIAN 

Legenda 

IN the year 1824, Mrs. Anna Mattingly 
of Washington, D.C., was miraculously 
cured of a severe illness in the following 
manner. She had been suffering from a 
dangerous cancer for several years; in spite 
of every remedy the disease seemed incur- 
able. In time she lost the use of her left 
arm, her back and shoulders became ul- 
cerated in consequence of a long confine- 
ment, and the symptoms of approaching 
dissolution began to appear. Finding that 
all natural means were unavailing, she had 
recourse to God. In concert with Prince 
Hohenlohe and her pastor, the Rev. Stephen 
L. Dubuisson, she began a novena in honor 



430 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



of the Most Holy Name of Jesus and at its 
end received the Blessed Sacrament. When 
about to receive Holy Communion, believ- 
ing that the time had come when she must 
either die or be restored to health, she ut- 
tered these words: "Lord Jesus, Thy Will 
be glorified. " Her tongue was so rough 
and parched from fever that she was unable 
to swallow the host for five or six seconds, 
but the moment she swallowed it all pain 
instantly vanished and her body was en- 
tirely healed. She immediately arose and 
dressed herself, and having knelt down gave 
thanks to God, and received hundreds of 
visitors who came to congratulate her and 
to witness the miracle. These facts are all 
attested by a number of competent wit- 
nesses, and anyone who desires to examine 
the evidence can find a full statement of the 
case in the works of Bishop England. 
• • 

In the year 1824, on the 25th of January, 
another miraculous cure was obtained dur- 
ing mass in the case of Mary Dorizon, which 
caused a great sensation in the diocese of 
Maux, in France, where it took place. Mary 
Dorizon, a poor woman about forty years of 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 431 



age and much respected for her virtues, was 
subject from the age of 17 to a nervous dis- 
order of a very extraordinary nature. All 
known remedies proved unavailing and par- 
ticularly in the year mentioned, her dis- 
order assumed an alarming character. She 
had daily convulsions, which rendered her 
person quite deformed, ulcers, swelling of 
the legs, and other maladies, resulting. It 
occurred to her friends to write to the Prince 
Hohenlohe on her behalf. The Prince, as 
before, directed them to perform certain 
devotions, and on Sunday, the 25th of Jan- 
uary, two masses were offered up for her 
intentions. She fainted during both; but 
at the moment of the elevation at the second 
Mass recovered her senses and exclaimed: 
" Thanks be to our Lord, give me my 
clothes.' ' She rose without assistance and 
remained long enough on her knees to pre- 
pare herself for Holy Communion, which 
she received a little before nine o'clock. 
In short, her cure was so complete that the 
patient, hitherto incapable of moving a step, 
repaired alone to the church and assisted at 
High Mass to the great astonishment of the 
spectators. Since that time she walks and 
works. Her person has become straight, 



432 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



her wounds have closed, and her diseases 
have disappeared. 1 

Augustina Mourette, a resident of Creteill 
on the Seine, France, had lost the use of her 
feet, her arms, and her tongue, being as a 
result completely crippled. For eighteen 
months Augustina lay upon her couch with- 
out any sign of hope. 

It was in the year 1802 and the feast of 
Corpus Christi was to be celebrated pub- 
licly and with great pomp throughout the 
kingdom of France. A young girl friend of 
Augustina, by the name of Henrietta, had 
read in the gospel how in former times the 
people had brought the sick to the Savior 
as He passed by. "Now," thought she, "the 
very Savior passeth by our houses and His 
pity for the unhappy is ever the same; He 
gave health to one sick of the palsy and 
will it be harder for Him to manifest His 
pitiful goodness to a cripple of eighteen 
months?" Henrietta formed her plan and 
laid it before her companions, who entered 
into it most earnestly. 

1 Works of Dr. England, Bishop of Charleston, Vol. 
Ill, page 393. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 433 



The following day Augustina was dressed 
by her friends in her feastday clothes, 
placed in an armchair and carried by them 
through the midst of the astonished crowd 
and placed near the high altar where the 
Holy of Holies should rest. At the time of 
Benediction the maidens, dressed in white 
and with veils on their heads, took up their 
well-beloved companion in her chair and 
placed her down gently a few steps from 
the altar. Then, forming themselves in a 
semicircle around her, they begged with 
earnest faith and hope for her recovery, for 
a miracle. A thousand eyes fixed them- 
selves now on the Blessed Sacrament, now 
on the crippled girl. The priest came down 
with the Most Holy in his hands, and placing 
it in the midst of the circle, said a prayer 
over the cripple. "Amen," responded the 
group of maidens. "Amen," resounded far 
and near. At this universal response to 
the supplication of the priest everyone 
perceived the sick girl rise from her chair 
without help and bend her knees with ease 
in thankful adoration before the Divine 
Physician. 1 

1 Annales du Saint Sacrament, 1865. 



434 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



A magazine, entitled " Tabernacle and 
Purgatory/' publishes the following account 
of a cure obtained through our Eucharistic 
Lord. 

"On January 6, 1868, the feast of the 
Epiphany, I was compelled to take to my 
bed on account of illness. As I complained 
of a headache and felt a chill through my 
body, my parents supposed I had merely 
taken a cold which would soon pass away. 
They kept me in bed but did not think it 
necessary to call a physician. The next 
day my limbs were very weak, but I was 
still able to walk when supported. My 
parents now took my ailment for gout and 
kept me especially warm. The weakness 
in my limbs, however, kept on increasing, 
and in the space of two weeks they were so 
paralyzed that I was unable to stand upon 
them. Gradually my back, likewise, seemed 
to lose all feeling, and it could be pricked 
with a pin without my feeling anything. 

"As my appetite had also abandoned me, 
Physician Dr. E. of 0. . . . was summoned. 
He examined me carefully, and declared 
that I was suffering from nervous prostra- 
tion, my nerves having become entirely 
inactive. For a long time I took medicines 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 435 



and electric treatment, but received neither 
strength nor power to move my paralyzed 
limbs. The only result was that in some 
spots there seemed to be a little life for a 
time, but the next day it was all as before. 
Then Dr. E. ordered me to take sweat- 
baths, but these likewise did not help me 
and he finally gave up my case as hopeless. 

"In the meantime I reached the age of 
thirteen, and had already spent a whole 
year in the pitiable condition. The other 
children of my age had received their first 
Holy Communion on Low Sunday, 1869, 
and I entertained an ardent desire to enjoy 
the, same happiness. I expressed my wish 
to the pastor, who had frequently visited me 
during my illness. He at once consented to 
my petition but was not in favor of my 
receiving First Holy Communion in the 
church as I desired, but thought that I 
should remain in bed. I, however, felt 
convinced that if I could receive my First 
Holy Communion in the church I should 
be cured. At length the good pastor con- 
sented and appointed July 26th, the feast 
of my patron, St. Ann, as the day for my 
First Holy Communion. I could scarcely 
await the time, for I had a great longing 



436 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



to be united with my Savior in the Blessed 
Sacrament; moreover, I confidently hoped 
to be restored to health. The day so ar- 
dently longed for came at last. My par- 
ents had me taken to the church in a little 
wagon and then my father carried me into 
the church and placed me in an armchair 
that was in readiness. Sister M. L., the 
Superior of the Franciscans, helped my 
mother to bring me up to the communion 
rail and my Jesus came into my heart. As 
I was not able to kneel, they had to place 
me back in the chair, where I made my 
thanksgiving and earnestly begged our Lord 
to cure me if it were His Holy Will. 

" After I had prayed firmly thus for a time, 
I experienced a strange sensation of tugging 
and creeping in my paralyzed members. 
I had not felt anything like it for nineteen 
months, and the thought came to me at 
once, 'Now I can walk again.' This tug- 
ging and creeping kept on increasing and I 
could scarcely wait until Mass was finished 
so I might get up and walk. After part of 
the congregation had left, my father was 
about to take me in his arms and carry me 
back to the wagon, but I said to him 'I can 
walk.' When I asked him to step aside he 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 437 



thought, of course, that it was only my 
imagination, but he let me have my way 
and as a precaution held out his hands to 
catch me if I should fall. But what a 
surprise awaited him! I arose sprightly 
and walked all alone to the other end of 
the church, where I knelt down and firmly 
thanked God for this great favor. The 
pastor, too, was deeply moved and immedi- 
ately knelt down at the foot of the altar 
and offered up prayers of gratitude aloud 
in which all the people joined. Thereupon 
my mother and friends led me home. 
Nearly four years have passed since my 
miraculous cure and I never had a relapse 
of my former illness. The whole city can 
testify to this, as I take a walk through the 
streets every day." A. M. 1 

Reflection 

Our dear Savior shows Himself to the 
Blessed in glory, but to us he gives Himself 
whole and entire under the sacramental 
species. There the Blessed enjoy Him as a 
reward; here we receive Him as our food to 
help us on our way. There He communi- 
cates Himself to them as a clear object of 

1 Tabernacle and Purgatory, Vol. X. 



438 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



vision, here He communicates Himself to 
us hidden in the accidents of the mystery. 
To both He could give nothing greater than 
Himself. Love in infinite intensity marked 
the dealings of Christ with the elect in 
heaven and struggling humanity on earth. 
Could there be a more convincing proof of 
His love for us? 



JFort^&ebent!) Keatuno; and Witiltctioxt 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

ST. JULIANA FALCONIERI, a holy vir- 
gin who lived in the thirteenth century, 
was distinguished for her extraordinary devo- 
tion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. In 
her last illness she earnestly desired to receive 
Him in the Holy Viaticum, but on account of 
the continual sickness to which she was sub- 
ject, it was considered impossible to comply 
with her pious desire. Moved, however by 
her earnest entreaties, her confessor brought 
into her presence the Sacred Host, that she 
might have at least the consolation of adoring 
our Lord and receiving His last blessing. 
No sooner did she perceive the object of her 
ardent affection, than in a transport of love, 
forgetting her extreme weakness, she sprang 
from the bed, and cast herself on the ground 
to adore her God. Then with many tears 



440 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



she asked as a last favor, that since she 
could not receive Jesus sacramentally, His 
most Sacred Body might be laid upon her 
breast, that her heart might be refreshed by 
the near presence of Him whom she so ar- 
dently loved. Her confessor, moved by her 
tears and entreaties and knowing well the 
virginal purity of her soul and her eminent 
sanctity, granted her request, and a corporal 
having been spread upon the breast of the 
dying virgin, the Blessed Sacrament was 
placed upon it in the immediate neighbor- 
hood of her heart. Scarcely had the priest 
laid the Sacred Host on the chaste bosom 
of Juliana, than, overcome by the sweetness 
of our Lord's presence and languishing with 
love, she cried out, "Oh my sweet Jesus !" 
and expired. Wonderful to relate the Sacred 
Host was no longer to be seen. In the last 
expiring act of love and longing desire with 
which Juliana had greeted the presence of 
Jesus, the Sacred Host had passed into her 
heart, leaving the impression of the conse- 
crated particle upon her breast. Thus did 
Jesus satisfy the longing desire of this pure 
soul, coming to her as her Viaticum to 
accompany her to his heavenly kingdom. 1 

1 Life of St. Juliana Falconieri. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 441 



Favre, a French author, in one of his 
writings recounts the following incident. 

In the year 1803 during the invasion of 
Piedmont by the French, a procession in 
honor of the jubilee granted on that oc- 
casion was being held in Turin. It hap- 
pened that there was a most irreligious 
barber in the city, who scoffed and sneered 
at any of his customers expressing a desire 
to join the procession. When he had fin- 
ished his work, he determined to see the 
grand display himself, going, however, not 
from any motive of piety, but as an occa- 
sion of offering insults to our divine Savior 
in the Sacrament of His love. But behold, 
at the moment when the priest carrying 
the Blessed Sacrament passed him, he fell 
dead on the ground in presence of the nu- 
merous throng who had assembled to pay 
their homage to our Lord. The people 
regarded his sudden death as a just punish- 
ment for his wickedness. The event caused 
such a sensation that the police magistrate 
had the wretched man's body exposed for 
forty-six hours at the door of the City Hall. 1 

During the octave of the feast of Corpus 

1 "Pelican," 1893. 



442 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



Christi, in 1445, thieves broke open the 
tabernacle of All Saints' Church, Cracow, 
Poland. A golden receptacle in which the 
Sacred Host was preserved was, however, 
all they could secure. Having reached the 
city gate, they examined their booty to see 
if it was of any value, but, to their dis- 
pleasure, they found that it was only gilded 
copper. In utter disgust they threw it in 
a meadow near by. Then a strange occur- 
rence took place. The meadow became 
an object of interest to the surrounding 
country, for from that time forth a peculiar 
glow seemed to rest over it, and innumer- 
able lights floated to and fro, dispelling the 
darkness. Though many of the town's in- 
habitants knew of the peculiar appearances 
and called them the will o' the wisp, still 
none seemed to be able to define the present 
phenomena. Scientists were called upon to 
pass judgment upon the extraordinary fea- 
ture, but they were completely baffled and 
unable to offer any satisfactory explanation. 
Finally the Bishop of the place ordered 
special prayers to be recited and a three 
days' fast to be observed, that God might 
reveal the reason of this wonder. 

After the third day, the Bishop in solemn 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 443 



procession went to the meadow, and lo, 
from the sedge and brushwood the Host 
in all its purity arose in sight of the 
awestricken people. The brilliant lights, 
therefore, were the work of angel-hands 
assembled to do reverence to their insulted 
Lord. 

Casimir, King of Poland, had a church 
erected on the spot, and consecrated under 
the title of Corpus Christi. A mural paint- 
ing within the edifice portrays all the inci- 
dents of the miracle. Even at the present 
time thousands of pilgrims visit the spot 
every year on the anniversary of the mar- 
velous occurrence. It is almost impossible 
to doubt the above cited historic fact, since 
the very church erected by King Casimir 
and the mural paintings still exist. 1 

Reflection 

Let us seriously contemplate Christ's 
goodness, wisdom, and power in the Holy 
Sacrament. Let joy and goodness flood our 
hearts, for the gift is wondrous for such 
as we are. Too often the reception of Holy 
Communion is neglected by ungrateful men, 
yet God Himself directed that our souls 
1 Acta S.S. Aug. 3, page 317. 



444 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



should be nourished by this heavenly food. 
In receiving Jesus, the clouds that darken 
our lives are dispersed, and rifts of heaven's 
dazzling brightness break in upon our souls. 
Thus we pass through trouble and tribu- 
lation to the brightness beyond. 

When we approach the Holy Table no 
sorrow can really afflict us. Unlike the 
bitter sighs of Job in his misery, ours are 
sighs of Christian joy. His lamentations 
were mournful when he sat down to partake 
of ordinary bread, knowing perhaps with 
prophetic gaze of the " Bread that cometh 
from heaven. " Christians should sigh with 
love when they eat of the Body of our Lord. 
But like the faithful Job, we ought to labor, 
doing penance, eradicating vice, and trans- 
forming our lives. With desire, with love, 
and with joy let us long for the time when 
we shall be again united to our God in Holy 
Communion. 




THE Annals of the Propagation of the 
Faith " bring to notice a very striking 
instance of how the great God of heaven and 
earth on one occasion avenged a sacrilege. 

It was in the year 1834, on the eve of the 
Assumption of our Blessed Mother. Night 
had already spread its mantle over the earth, 
and lulled to slumber its toilworn inhab- 
itants. The city of Charlestown in the 
United States seemed particularly peaceful, 
when suddenly leaping flames of fire began to 
cover the heavens. Approaching nearer one 
could see that the Ursuline Convent was a 
mass of flames. Was the fire an accident? 
No, fanatical men in the town had planned 
an uprising against the Catholics and this 
was the result. 



446 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



Both Sisters and pupils had already re- 
tired for the night, when suddenly they 
were aroused from their peaceful slumber 
by the shouts of the mob and the demolish- 
ing of the outer doors of the Convent. 
With difficulty the pupils effected their 
escape as the bright flames almost enveloped 
them. Unheeding the frantic appeals of the 
Sisters, the men continued their unholy 
work. They were now engaged in plunder- 
ing the church. One of their number as- 
cended the steps of the altar, seized the 
ciborium, and emptied the consecrated par- 
ticles into his pocket. Then he repaired to 
a tavern in the city, and surrounded by his 
associates began to relate his courageous deed. 

In the midst of his blasphemous speech 
he suddenly noticed an Irish Catholic re- 
garding him with an aspect of intense hor- 
ror. Nothing daunted, however, the wicked 
man forthwith drew from his pocket several 
Hosts, and holding them on high so that 
the Catholic could see them, addressed him 
in a sneering tone: "Here, behold your 
God! Why need you go any more to seek 
him in your church? " The Catholic, dum- 
founded, stood irresolute. What should he 
do? But God's vengeance had already over- 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 447 



j taken the blasphemer. At that moment he 
| turned deadly pale, and feeling himself 
! seized with a sudden paroxysm, hurried 
from the room. A quarter of an hour, a 
! half hour elapsed, yet he did not return. 
A dreadful fear fell on the spectators, and 
with one impulse they went to search for 
I him. There he lay on the floor of another 
room, — a corpse! Thus had the just pun- 
ishment of God been meted out to the 
perpetrator of the horrible sacrilege. 1 

A young man once lived in excessive 
criminal indulgence for so long that there 
seemed little hope of his ever again return- 
ing to the path of righteousness. At Easter 
time, however, a strange resolution formu- 
lated itself in his mind, and he determined 
to make his Easter duty. Yet the very 
determination did not make him change his 
mode of life, and, as a result, he approached 
the Holy Table with a grave sin upon his 
soul, and thus became guilty of a sacrilege. 

But scarcely had he received the Sacra- 
ment when he was possessed by the devil, 

1 Works of Bishop Fenwick of Boston. Blessed Eu- 
charist by Father Mueller, C.SS.R. 



448 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



who maltreated him excessively. Having 
been informed of the reality of the posses- 
sion of the young man, the Bishop sent a 
missionary to exorcise the demoniac. In 
order to show the spectators that the man 
was really possessed, the priest commanded 
the devil to lift him up and hold him sus- 
pended in the air. The devil did so. Then 
the minister of God bade the evil spirit 
give him back the body. Again the fiend 
obeyed. " Answer me," the priest then said 
to the devil, "why dost thou take possession 
of the body of this unhappy Christian?" 
" Because I have a just right to it," Satan 
replied; "he is mine, since he made that 
bad Communion." This declaration struck 
such a salutary fear into the hearts of the 
spectators that they resolved not only never 
to make a sacrilegious Communion, but also 
to be more devout and fervent when receiv- 
ing the Blessed Sacrament thereafter. 

God showed excessive mercy to the young 
man, however, in freeing him through the 
prayers of the Church from the diabolical 
obsession. 

Guillois, a French author, mentions the 
above cited case in one of his works. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 449 



St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi, as we 
read in her life, visited Jesus Christ in the 
Blessed Sacrament thirty-three times a day. 
The Countess of Feria, a nun of the order of 
Poor Clares, was called the Spouse of the 
Blessed Sacrament, from her fervent and 
lengthened visits to it. 

St. Elizabeth of Hungary was accus- 
tomed, even in her childhood, often to visit 
Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. If 
she found the church closed, she would af- 
fectionately kiss the lock of the door and 
the walls of the church for love of Jesus 
Christ in the Most Holy Eucharist. 

St. Alphonsus being unable, on account of 
his advanced age, to walk to the church, 
was carried thither in a chair, in order to 
pay his accustomed visits to his Savior. 

Father Aloys la Nuza, a great missionary 
of Sicily, was, even when a young student 
in the world, so much attached to Jesus 
Christ that it seemed as if he could hardly 
tear himself from the presence of his beloved 
Lord, on account of the great delight he 
found there; when he was commanded by 
his director not to remain before the Blessed 
Sacrament longer than an hour at a time, 
it was as great a difficulty to separate him- 



450 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



self from the bosom of Jesus at the expira- 
tion of that time, as it is for an infant to 
tear itself away from its mother's breast. 
The writer of his life says that, when he 
was forced to leave the church, he would 
stand looking at the altar and turning again 
and again, as if he could not take leave of 
his Lord, whose presence was so sweet and 
consoling. 

How many are there perhaps who must 
confess up to this day that they have never 
visited Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacra- 
ment, resembling Jutta, the niece of the 
Empress St. Cunigunda, of whom it is 
related that she stayed at home, without 
any plausible reason, wliilst the Blessed 
Sacrament was exposed in the church. St. 
Cunigunda, inflamed with holy indignation 
at this indifference, gave her niece a severe 
slap in the face. The Lord, in punishment 
of Jutta' s indifference toward Him, allowed 
the print of St. Cunigunda's fingers to re- 
main indelibly stamped on her face. 

Reflection 

If the unleavened bread of the Old Law 
was deemed desirable, how much more so 
ought not the Bread of the New Law, the 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 451 



Bread of the Holy Eucharist, to be, since in 
it Christ is truly and really received! Cer- 
tainly this is the Bread for which we should 
long exceedingly! " Great is that Bread/' 
says St. Chrysostom, which fills the mind 
and not the stomach. That Bread is ours 
and the Angels'; that Bread is eaten and 
remains entire. We eat It, and by It we 
live, and on It we feed, with It we are nour- 
ished, and through It we reach heaven.' ' 
Oh! how desirable is that Bread! Who is 
he who desires not to eat' It? The manna 
given to the Jews of old was desirable. It 
was heavenly bread delivered to man by 
the ministry of angels, but soon they tired 
of it, and were ungrateful to God for His 
bounty. Not a few Christians act as these 
Jews. They partake but seldom of the 
Holy Eucharist, and when the divine and 
ecclesiastical precepts command them to 
do so, they approach the Sacrament tepidly 
and slothfully. Oh! let us take care not to 
loathe that Eucharistic Food. 



jfott^jRmtf) Ifteatuns ana l&ttltttion 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Historical 

THE impious Frederick the Second, on 
account of his wickedness, had fallen 
under the ban of the Church, and sent a 
colony of 20,000 infidels into the valley of 
Spoleto because it was the patrimony of 
the Holy See. These banditti came in great 
numbers to plunder Assisi, and as St. Dami- 
en's convent stood without the walls of the 
city they assaulted it first. This nunnery 
was governed by the holy abbess St. Clare. 
They placed long ladders against the walls 
and began the ascent until it seemed that 
in a few moments the spouses of Christ 
would fall into the hands of these wdcked 
men. It was obvious that there was no 
chance of escape, yet not for an instant 
did the holy virgin despair. In her ex- 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 453 



tremity Clare immediately summoned her 
Sisters to the chapel, and as if by an inspi- 
ration from heaven mounted the steps of 
the alter, and with reverent hands took 
forth the ciborium containing the Sacred 
Body of our Lord. Then bowing in adora- 
tion, and with eyes raised to the holy vessel, 
she prayed thus: "0 my Jesus, save thy 
servant whom Thou hast brought hither, 
and whom Thou dost so often nourish with 
Thy precious Body." Her prayer ended, 
she was interiorly comforted, feeling that 
the protection of heaven was resting upon 
her. Then with a brave heart she bore the 
ciborium to the convent wall, The men 
who were then trying to scale the height 
were completely dazzled by the light ema- 
nating from the sacred vessel and, panic- 
stricken, sought safety in flight. Thus was 
the holy convent saved from destruction by 
the invaders, who therefore directed their 
steps to the city. 

But the marvel did not stop here. 
Hardly had the inhabitants of the valley 
of Spoleto recovered from the shock of this 
invasion when Vitalis Aversa, a cruel and 
proud general, laid siegeto Assisi for many 
days. St. Clare now used her endeavors to 



454 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



save the city from which they had hitherto 
received all their temporal sustenances. Call- 
ing her nuns together she ordered them to 
strew ashes on their heads and, prostrating 
themselves before the tabernacle, inter- 
ceded that the Lord should spare the city. 
They continued for a day and a night in 
prayer to God until powerful succors ar- 
rived and the assailants were compelled to 
raise the siege. Their general was soon 
after slain. It was not without reason, 
then, that Pope Innocent IV and Gregory 
IX held the holy virgin Clare in such high 
regard. God often worked miracles out of 
regard for His faithful servant. 1 

There are many beautiful examples on 
record of the homage which kings and em- 
perors have paid to the Savior of mankind 
humbly hidden in the Blessed Sacrament. 
Philip II, King of Spain, always dispensed 
with regal pomp and pageantry when he 
assisted at processions of the Blessed Sac- 
rament, and mingled with the throng as an 
ordinary personage. Even the inclem- 
ency of the weather did not deter him 

1 Ott: Euch., 197. Her Life by P. P. Lechner. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 455 



from paying his tribute of honor to his 
Lord. One day as he was devoutly ac- 
companying the Blessed Sacrament with 
uncovered head a page held his hat over 
him to shield him from the burning sun. 
" Never mind," said Philip, "the sun will 
do no harm. At such a time as this we 
must regard neither rain nor wind, heat 
nor cold." 

Rudolph, Count of Hapsburg, whilst 
hunting one day, observed a priest carrying 
the Viaticum to the sick, whereupon he 
immediately alighted, and insisted on the 
priest mounting in his place. The offer 
was accepted and the priest, having gone 
through his sacred and pastoral duties, re- 
turned the animal to the count with many 
marks of gratitude. Yet this noble and 
Christian Count could not be prevailed 
upon to receive it back again. "No," said 
he, "keep it, for I am not worthy to ride 
upon a horse which has borne my Lord." 

The well-loved ruler Charles II, King of 
Spain, on January 20, 1685, was riding in 
his royal coach beyond the limits of Madrid 
when his attention was attracted by a priest 
clothed in a surplice. The fact that he 
was accompanied only by the sexton, who 



456 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



carried a small lantern, led the king to 
doubt whether the Blessed Sacrament or 
only the Holy Oils were being conveyed to 
the sick person. He, therefore, bowing his 
head respectfully, inquired, from his car- 
riage, whether the Reverend Father was 
bearing the Holy Viaticum. No sooner did 
he learn that such was the case, than he 
quickly alighted and rendered humble ado- 
ration to the King of kings. 

When he had adored his Lord and God, 
the king arose and saluted the priest. He 
urged him to enter his carriage, and when 
he had assisted him to his own seat, he 
closed the door. Then giving the postilion 
a sign to drive on, he himself assumed the 
role of servant, placing his right hand on 
the coach and carrying his hat in the left. 
So they moved onward, King Charles walk- 
ing the entire distance with head uncovered. 

Upon their arrival at the poor man's 
cottage, the King assisted the priest to 
alight, and again paid his adoration to the 
Blessed Sacrament. He reverently followed 
the minister of God into the sick-room and 
devoutly assisted at the sacred ceremony. 
At its conclusion, he approached the 
patient and spoke words of sympathy and 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 457 



consolation. Moreover, he bestowed on him 
a royal alms and relieved the poor man's 
anxiety regarding his daughter's future by 
providing her with a suitable dowry. When 
the priest was ready to leave, King Charles 
urged him once more to occupy his own 
carriage with the Blessed Sacrament. He 
himself wished to return as he had come, 
walking again as a servant. The entreaties 
of his courtiers, however, urged him to con- 
sider his declining strength and the rough- 
ness of the road, and he consented to ride 
in another carriage. 

The news of this noble deed spread like 
lightning and crowds gathered from all 
sides. They praised their King openly and, 
following his example, united with him in 
his profound homage and adoration to the 
Blessed Sacrament. The procession ar- 
rived at length before the church of St. 
Mark,, and the King hastened forward, 
eager to be the first to assist the priest to 
alight. At the head of the assembled mul- 
titude he then followed the bearer of the 
Divine Mysteries into the church, where 
all received the Benediction, and then, 
amid the acclamations of his people, the, 
royal worshipper returned to his palace. 



458 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



Reflection 

As all the Sacraments of the New Law 
confer grace on the recipients it is evident 
that some fruit is always garnered by those 
who approach worthily the most Holy 
Sacrament of the Eucharist. But to ob- 
tain a great abundance of grace from the 
reception of this wonderful sacrament, great 
preparation is necessary and desirable on the 
part of the recipient. All the sacraments 
are the overflowing fountains of Christ's 
goodness, from which we draw the purest 
waters of Divine Grace. The Eucharist is 
especially a perennial fountain of heavenly 
purity and grace; but as he who has the 
largest vessel draws the most water from 
a fountain, so he that has the best disposi- 
tions in receiving the most Holy Sacrament 
of the Eucharist draws the greatest abun- 
dance of grace. The words of the Prophet 
Isaias express minutely the dispositions we 
should have in coming to Holy Communion. 

"When one is about to depart from this 
world, three things arise before his mind, 
namely, death, judgment, and Paradise: 
death, which he knows is the passage to the 
next world; judgment, which he hopes will 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 459 



be favorable; and Paradise, which he longs 
to obtain. Now, all these wishes, conceived 
as death approaches, will be vain and empty 
unless he puts his house in order and pre- 
pares himself properly. The same good 
dispositions should possess the heart of every 
communicant. Each one should, therefore, 
before partaking of the Eucharistic Bread, 
be actuated as if he were about to depart 
from this life, as if he were to stand immedi- 
ately at the tribunal of justice, as if in fact 
he were deemed worthy this moment to enter 
the kingdom of heaven." 



jFtfttetf) Eea&mg and Inflection 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 



S regards care and reverence towards the 



±\. altar we have several beautiful examples 
in the lives of the Dominican saints among 
the Sisters. Teresa de la Cerda, who made 
her profession in the Convent of Jaen A.D. 
1508, had a favorite statue of the Infant 
Jesus, and was fond of making little dresses 
for it and ornaments for its altar. One day, 
whilst busy in this way, she heard a voice 
which said, " Teresa, you do much, and take 
great pains for the painted figure of Jesus, 
but nothing for the living Jesus which 
words she understood refer to the Blessed 
Sacrament. Thenceforth she entirely de- 
voted herself to working for our Lord in His 
veiled presence on the altar and is said to 
have made a tabernacle, which was one of the 



Legenda 




FOR THE HOLY HOUR 461 



most beautiful in Spain. She had the care 
I of washing the corporals, a duty which she 
1 discharged with such devotion that it was her 
custom never to stir from the place where they 
were hung to dry, until they were removed, 
li in order that she might prevent the flies from 
settling on them; and this act of reverence 
1 was so pleasing to our Lord that He allowed 
her once to see Him in the form of a beauti- 
ful Infant lying on the corporal and folding 
round Him. 

Mary of Jesus was another whose love 
manifested itself in a special care and rever- 
ence for the altar. Whilst still in the world 
she would take upon herself the charge of 
washing all the altar linen and keeping the 
altar clean and decent. In the village where 
her husband's country house was situated, 
the Blessed Sacrament was left without any 
i lamp, a neglect which sensibly afflicted her 
and which she was not slow to remedy. 
She provided a lamp and every evening 
brought the oil and trimmed it herself, and 
was often overheard exclaiming as she did so : 
"Oh that my blood could serve instead of 
oil for Thy lamp, my God. How gladly 
! would I give it!" 

We read of the singular devotion with 



462 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



which Blessed John Massias (1645), one of the 
beatified Dominican lay-brothers, served 
Mass and adorned the church for solemn 
feasts. His moments of recreation were those 
spent in the discharge of his duties as assistant 
sacristan. Corpus Christi was the great 
day, when he delighted with all the simplicity 
of a child in devising new ways of decorating 
the church for the solemn procession of the 
Most Holy Sacrament. 

Whenever the Blessed Sacrament was 
exposed, Dominica Torres (A.D. 1590) re- 
mained on her knees before It during the 
entire day, never stirring from the church and 
spending the whole time of exposition without 
rest or nourishment. Half of her life might 
be said to have been spent in adoration, for 
she watched before the altar during almost 
the entire night. On one occasion a token 
of the divine favor was given to Clare of 
Jesus Christ during her solitary vigils; for, 
finding the lamp extinguished, she complained 
tenderly to her Spouse, and on rising from her 
prostration she found the light once more 
burning brightly and steadily. 

We have an account of one Friar who died 
in his attempt to preserve the Blessed Sacra- 
ment from fire. This was Alonso Gardes. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 463 



The flames had attacked the cloister and 
spread to the church, where Alfonso was 
watching in prayer. He ran to call his 
Brethren, but all had fled. He might have 
escaped himself, but he could not resolve to 
abandon our Lord; and, returning to the 
church, he opened the tabernacle, took out 
the ciborium, and placed it on his chest. 
Then, carrying his precious burden, he once 
more attempted to leave the church, but it 
was too late; the fire was in possession of 
the whole building and the falling roof buried 
him beneath its ruins. One of his companions, 
to whom he was very dear, was overwhelmed 
with grief at a death which seemed so sad 
and terrible; but one night, as he lay weeping 
and praying for his soul, Alfonso appeared, 
bright and beautiful, and stood by his bed- 
side. "Is it you?" said his bewildered friend. 
" Where are you living?" In " heaven," 
replied Alfonso; "it is now three days 
since I was admitted to the beatific vision." 
This was on the third day after the fire, so 
the Friar knew that he had been received 
into heaven on the very day of his decease. 1 

1 Dominican Lives: Drane. 



464 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



Reflection 

Christ teaches that the guest who comes 
to the wedding-feast should take the lowest 
place. St. Bonaventure explains this feast 
mystically, while Venerable Bede discusses 
the union which should exist between Christ 
and the guest. As often as anyone ap- 
proaches the Eucharistic Banquet, Christ 
admonishes him to sit in the lowest place. 
But we are liable to ask: why does Christ 
order everyone to the lowest place at a 
banquet when all men desire to be seated 
in the chair of honor near the Master? St. 
Bernardine interprets the meaning by say- 
ing that the lowest place means death, and 
he goes on to say that if we desire to receive 
Holy Communion as our divine Lord wishes, 
we should dispose ourselves for it as those 
good souls do who are about to die. If 
you knew that death was threatening you, 
would you not regard the pleasures and 
vanities of this world as nothing, would 
you not flee from all occasions of sin, would 
you not forgive your enemies from all your 
heart, and restore ill-gotten goods? As you 
would prepare yourself with the most pious 
sentiments and sublime thoughts to die, so 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 



465 



you ought to dispose your heart to receive 
within its confines that God of the Eucharist 
who is to be your portion for all eternity. 

At the sight of Thy Sacrament, Jesus, 
my heart melts with love and my whole 
being humbles itself at Thy feet. Ah, I 
understand better my nothingness, my vile- 
ness; I understand at last all that Thou 
art, O my God, and the little that I am. 
Look upon me, Lord, and have mercy 
upon me. Bring down my pride that de- 
stroys me and blinds me. Drive all disorder 
from my mind, and fill my heart with humil- 
ity and love. Let me know Thee, Jesus, 
in order to love Thee better; let me know 
myself in order to humble myself more and 
more. 




jftft£ 5 JFtrsft Keatimg anti l&eflectton 



MANIFESTATIONS OF THE REAL PRESENCE 

Legenda 

AMONG the survivors of the terrible 
catastrophe that befell the island of 
Martinique at the eruption of Mount Pelee, 
May 8, 1902, were the sisters of the congre- 
gation of De la Deliverande, twenty-three 
in number. That Morne Rouge escaped 
devastation, they attributed to divine inter- 
vention, for, though their community was 
nearest to the crater, yet it was the only 
one within the zone of disaster that escaped 
unharmed. 

The election campaign was on for the 
house of French deputies. The socialists 
formed a strong majority in St. Pierre, and 
about four hundred of them were in Morne 
Rouge, near St. Pierre. They denounced 
the Catholic Clergy and went so far as to 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 467 



threaten the Sisters' lives. Night and day 
they sang ribald campaign songs. St. Pierre 
was placarded with blasphemous proclama- 
tions. The blacks threatened to seize the 
church and turn it into a theatre and the 
cathedral of the city into a dance-hall. 

Sister Mary of the Infant Jesus describes 
the events thus: "We were in deadly fear 
of our lives, and for two days and nights 
stayed in the church of Notre Dame, in 
Morne Rouge, praying. Early on the morn- 
ing of May 8th, the mountain began to 
rumble and to emit smoke. Father Marie 
celebrated holy Mass at six o'clock; Father 
Bruno at half past seven. Services were 
hardly over before the good people of the 
town began to flock in terror to the church. 
The priest distributed Holy Communion 
when suddenly there appeared before the 
altar, our Savior, showing His Sacred Heart. 

"The members of the congregation, kneel- 
ing cried to one another, 'See the Sacred 
Heart!' The vision was sad-faced and 
wan. All that day of terror we remained 
in prayer. Fire, steam, and boiling mud 
were all around us, yet our place was un- 
touched; not a person was lost or harmed." 1 

1 Tabernacle and Purgatory, Vol. 13. 



468 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



In the writings of the saints we find 
expressed most tender sentiments in honor 
of the Holy Eucharist: 

St. Ignatius of Antioch: "I desire not 
perishable food: I crave for the Divine 
Bread, the Bread of Heaven, the Bread of 
Life, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, the 
Son of God ; I thirst for the divine Beverage, 
His Blood which communicates undying 
love, life eternal.' 9 

St. Thomas of Aquin: "The Holy 
Eucharist is perfect grace, for it contains 
truly and substantially Christ, who is the 
fullness of grace. " 

St. Peter Canisius: "St. Augustine 
teaches and admonishes all Christians to 
avail themselves, at least every Sunday, of 
this salutary remedy of Holy Communion, 
providing they are of good will and do not 
purposely persevere in sin and in sinful 
resolutions." 

St. Gregory Nazianzen: "By nourishing 
His sheep with His Flesh after having 
purchased them with His Blood, the Good 
Shepherd truly gives His life for them. 
Holy Eucharist is the expression of His 
magnanimous generosity and His bound- 
less Love." 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 469 



St. Optatus of Milevis: "Can there be a 
greater sacrilege than to overthrow the 
altars of God, upon which the members of 
Christ reposed? What else is the altar but 
the throne of the Body and Blood of Christ." 

St. Nicholas, Martyr of Gorkum: "I will 
gladly give my life for the one, true, Cath- 
olic faith, and above all for this truth, that 
in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, 
under the appearance of bread and wine, 
Jesus Christ is truly present with Godhead 
and perfect Manhood." 

St. Gaudentius: "The Creator and Lord 
of nature, who let bread grow from the 
earth, changes the bread into His own 
body because He has promised it and is 
able to keep His promise; He who changed 
the water into wine, now changes the wine 
into His own blood." 

Reflection 

Our divine Master teaches us that the 
Holy Eucharist was prefigured by the 
manna. It has indeed striking analogies, 
and it is evident that it infinitely surpasses 
it in excellence. 

The manna was given to the Jews without 
their having done anything to deserve it, or 



470 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



rather, at the very moment when they were 
murmuring against Moses and against the 
Lord. 

Is not that goodness still more manifest 
in the gift of the Holy Eucharist? What 
had men done to merit this divine Good? 
Was it not at the very time that the Jews 
murmured against the true Moses that it 
was promised? Was it not when they were 
plotting against the life of the Divine Liber- 
ator that it was given? Yes, the very night 
when He was to be given up, Jesus Christ 
made this offering to men, thus answering 
the excess of their ingratitude by the great- 
est miracle of His Love. 

Moses called the manna the glory of God, 
whose power and goodness it clearly mani- 
fested, yet the Holy Eucharist merits that 
name by a still greater title, for nowhere 
are the divine attributes so manifest, and 
nothing else procures so much glory to God. 
The Holy Eucharist is, in reality, God^glori- 
fying God. 

The manna was also called the bread of 
children. Now, the Holy Eucharist is in a 
special manner the bread of the children of 
God, bread given to them when they have 
come forth from the bondage of sin, and 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 471 



which is their food during their journey in 
the desert of life. 

Manna was to the Israelites their safety 
and their strength, and, according to the 
remark of Origen, they performed no exploit 
of consequence before being fed by it, whilst 
they won numberless victories after it. 
The Holy Eucharist is the whole strength 
of the Christian, who by it becomes om- 
nipotent against the attacks of hell. 

Hail, divine Eucharistic bread of 
heaven, manna given to the new people of 
God; glory of the Lord, delicious food 
after which I hunger! 

Jesus, give me always of that Bread. 
Grant that I may communicate with good 
dispositions, and that, strengthened by that 
food of the strong, I may deserve to partake 
of it in heaven, where it is the source of 
boundless happiness. 



Srittv&ttonb Ifteabmg; anti l&eCltctton 



THE REAL PRESENCE AS DIVINE PHYSICIAN 

A Pastoral Letter 

IN his Pastoral letter of June 22, 1823, 
the Right Reverend Doctor Doyle of 
Kildare, Ireland, writes as follows: "We 
announce to you, my brethren, with great 
joy a splendid miracle which the Almighty 
has wrought even in our days, at the present 
time, and in the midst of ourselves. We 
announce it to you with a heart filled with 
gratitude to heaven, that you may unite 
with us in thanksgiving to 'The Father of 
mercies and the God of consolation/ Who 
consoles us in every tribulation, and who 
has even consoled us by restoring, mirac- 
ulously, Miss Mary Lalor, to the perfect 
use of her speech, of which for six years and 
five months she had been totally deprived.' ' 
Here the Right Reverend Bishop refers to 
a letter of the Very Reverend N. O'Connor, 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 473 



Rector of the Parish of Maryborough. 
This letter gives a detailed account of the 
miracle as it occurred. It reads as follows: 

Maryborough, June 11, 1823. 

"My Lord: In compliance with your 
request I send you a statement of the 
facts relative to Miss Lalor, which I have 
heard from others and witnessed myself. 

"I am now in the house where she was 
deprived of her speech. She is at present 
in the eighteenth year of her age, and as 
she is connected with one of the most re- 
spectable Catholic families in this county, 
and has had frequent intercourse with them, 
her privation of speech during six years and 
five months is established beyond contra- 
diction. Her hearing and understanding 
remained unimpaired, and she was accus^- 
tomed to carry a tablet and pencil to write 
what she could not communicate by signs. 

" Medical aid was tried by Doctor Ferris, 
at Athy, and Surgeon Smith of Mountrath, 
but without effect. The latter gentleman 
(as a similar case never occurred in his prac- 
tice) resolved to have it submitted to the 
most eminent physicians in Dublin, eight of 
whom were consulted; and the result was 



474 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



that no hopes could be entertained for her 
recovery. This decision was imparted by 
Doctor Smith to her father, apart from Mrs. 
and Miss Lalor, all of which circumstances 
the doctor recollected on the 14th instant, 
when he saw Miss Lalor and heard her case 
was miraculous. 

"You, my Lord, are already aware that, 
according to your directions, written to me 
on the first of June, I waited on Mr. Lalor 
and communicated to him and to his family 
all that you desired. They observed it 
with exactness; and on the morning of the 
10th instant, Miss Lalor having confessed 
to me by signs, and disposed herself for 
receiving the Holy Communion, I read to 
her again your Lordship's letter, the direc- 
tions of the Prince of Hohenlohe, namely, 
that she should excite within her a sincere 
repentance, and a firm resolution to obey 
God's commandments, a lively faith, and 
an unbounded confidence in His Mercy, an 
entire conformity to His Holy Will, and a 
disinterested love for Him. 

"I had previously requested the clergy 
of this district to offer up for Miss Lalor 
the holy Sacrifice of Mass, at twelve minutes 
before eight o'clock on the morning of the 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 475 



10th, keeping the matter a secret from 
almost all others, as you had recommended. 
However, as it became known to some, a 
considerable number collected in the chapel, 
when my two coadjutors, with myself, 
began Mass at the hour appointed. I 
offered the Holy Sacrifice in the name of 
the Church. I besought the Lord to over- 
look my own unworthiness and regard only 
Jesus Christ, the great High Priest and 
Victim, Who offers Himself in the Mass to 
His Eternal Father, for the living and the 
dead. I implored the Mother of God, all 
the angels and saints, and particularly St. 
John Nepomucene. I administered the Sac- 
rament to the young lady, at the usual 
time, when instantly she heard, as it were, 
a voice distinctly saying to her, 'Mary, you 
are well/ when instantly she exclaimed, 'O 
Lord, am I ? ' and, overwhelmed with devo- 
tion, fell prostrate on her face. She con- 
tinued in this posture for a considerable 
time, whilst I hastened to conclude the 
Mass, but was immediately interrupted in 
my thanksgiving by the mother of the 
child pressing her to speak. 

"When at length she was satisfied in 
pouring out her heart to the Lord, she took 



476 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



her mother by the hand, and said to her, 
'Dear mother/ upon which Mrs. Lalor 
called the clerk and sent for me, as I had 
retired to avoid the interruption, and on 
coming where the young lady was, I found 
her speaking in an agreeable, clear, and 
distinct voice, such as neither she nor her 
mother could recognize as her own. 

"Thus, my Lord, in obedience to your 
commands, I have given you a simple 
statement of facts, without adding to or 
distorting what I have seen and heard, the 
truth of which their very publicity places 
beyond all doubt, and which numberless 
witnesses as well as myself could attest by 
the most solemn appeal to heaven. I can- 
not forbear remarking to your Lordship 
how our Lord confirms the doctrine of His 
Church and His own presence upon our 
altars, by the same miracles to which He 
referred the disciples of St. John, saying: 
'Go, tell John the dumb speak/ etc., as a 
proof that He was the Son of God who came 
to save the world. 

"I remain, Your Lordship's dutiful and 
affectionate servant in Christ, 
N. O'Connor." 

"To the Right Rev. Dr. Doyle, 
Old Derring, Carlow." 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 477 



Reflection 

"Now here is exhibited a prodigy/ ' con- 
tinued the Right Reverend Bishop, " which 
is only different in kind, but not inferior in 
magnitude to the raising of the dead to life. 
He who at the gate of Nairn put His hand 
to the bier, and raised the widow's son to 
life, and gave him to his mother, here He 
spoke to the heart of a faithful servant, 
loosed the tongue which infirmity had par- 
alyzed, and restored a happy daughter to 
the embraces of her parent. We ourselves 
have participated in their joy, on conversing 
as we have lately done with this favored 
child of heaven. 

" Exult then, dearly beloved brethren, 
and rejoice that Almighty God has thus 
visited you His people, reanimating your 
faith, enlivening your hope, and exalting 
your charity, consoling your sorrows, re- 
lieving your distress, and healing your in- 
firmities, preparing in your sight a table 
against all who afflict you, and urging, by 
these manifestations of His power and 
goodness, to rely upon His Providence, 
' Whereas He has care of you!' 

"Our divine Savior continues to love men 



478 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



with the greatest love, and gives them the 
most certain and astonishing proofs of it, 
deserving of all their admiration and grati- 
tude. Does not the heart of Jesus burn 
with the most lively, most amiable, most 
merciful charity? There is not one creature 
for whom that adorable Master is not a 
guide, a friend, and a most loving and de- 
voted Father! 

" Jesus Christ in the most Blessed Sacra- 
ment unceasingly gives His life for men. 
During the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass He 
prays for them to His heavenly Father, 
from whom He asks pardon for sinners, by 
showing Him His wounds still bleeding, and 
which will not close. 

"'The love of Jesus Christ for men/ 
says St. Bernard, 'led that sweet Savior 
not only to sacrifice His life, but to give 
Himself wholly to them as their food/ 
What a prodigy of tenderness! 

" Jesus in this Sacrament loves men, and 
proves it to them in the most admirable 
way. He loves them all and calls them to 
Him to assist them, to console them, to 
instruct them, to heal them, to strengthen 
them, to give them His Body and His Blood, 
His merits, His graces, and His kingdom. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 479 



"At the altar, as well as during the days 
of His mortal life, He dries the tears of the 
afflicted, He gives sight to the blind, hear- 
ing to the deaf, speech to the dumb, health 
to the sick, liberty to those who are the 
slaves of sin and the devil. The God of the 
Eucharist passes from age to age doing good. 

"Jesus in the Host is only clemency and 
goodness, He appearing to forget His jus- 
tice, to remember nothing but His mercy. 
He does not return contempt for contempt, 
indifference for indifference, for it is to the 
tepid and to sinners, as well as to the fer- 
vent and just, that He addresses these 
words: 'Come to me all you that labor and 
are heavy laden, and I will refresh you.'" 

During this Holy Hour let us go to Jesus 
as the Author of love. Let our hearts draw 
near to His, so that He may warm them 
with the same fire. It is by 'coming to visit 
the Holy Sacrament that we come to par- 
ticipate in His sentiments of tenderness, 
sweetness, and zeal. 

How happy should we be, Jesus, could 
we but make reparation to Thy glory by 
our respect, by our zeal, aye even by the 
shedding of our blood. At least, most 
adorable Savior, grant us the grace to love 



480 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



Thee in the most Holy Sacrament of the 
altar, with the most tender, the most gen- 
erous, the most perfect and the most con- 
stant love. 

"Very Bread! Good Shepherd tend us, 

Jesu, of Thy love befriend us. 
Thou refresh us, Thou defend us, 

Thine eternal Goodness send us, 
In the Land of Life to see, 

Thou Who all things canst and knowest, 
W^ho on earth such Food bestowest, 

Grant us with Thy saints, though lowest, 
Fellow heirs and guests to be." 

ptaper for a l^appp Deat& 

(Cardinal Newman) 

flDfi, mv iLorU anb &abior, support me in 
tfiat fiour in tfie strong arms of W&y &acra* 
ments. ana bv tfie frrsfi fragrance of tlTfip 
consolations. Eet tfie absolving toorbS be 
Sain ober me. anb tfie fiolg oil sign anb seal 
me, anb 'ftfip obm Bob? be mv f oob, anb <&hv 
IMoob my springing; anb let mv Stoeet 
fi^otfier Sl^arp, breatb on me, anb mv &ngel 
tofiisper peace to me, anb mv glorious Saints 
. . . . smile upon me; tfiat in tfiem all. anb 
tfirougfi tfiem all. 3 map receibe tfie gift of 
perseberance, anb bie, as 3 besire to libe, in 
<&hv faitfi. in ^fip Cfiurcfi. in <Wbv serbice, 
anb in "Efip lobe. &men. 



FOR THE HOLY HOUR 481 



Solemn Ceremonies in connection with 
the Holy Hour at Our Lady of Lourdes 
Church, Paterson, N. J. 

Program 

1. Processional: Chancel choir and torch- 
bearers. 

2. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament 
and "O salutaris hostia." 

3. Lights down (in body of church). 
Torch-bearers advance to upper plat- 
form of the altar and form semicircle. 
All the sanctuary boys recite in a very 
solemn manner, "Holy, holy, holy," 
three times, concluding with " Glory be 
to the Father/' etc., and "Out of the 
depths have I cried to Thee, Lord/ ' etc. 

4. Hymn, (lights up) 

5. Petitions and prayer, (petitions to 
the Blessed Sacrament which the va- 
rious individuals had prepared during 
the week and deposited on the side altar) 

6. Hymn. • 

7. Reading: any selection on the Holy 
Eucharist. 

8. Hymn, (after song; lights down) 

9. Spiritual Communion: act of con- 
trition; "O Lord, I am not worthy" 



482 READINGS AND REFLECTIONS 



(choir); "O Jesus, I believe that Thou 
art present " (recited by the entire con- 
gregation); the "Our Father and 
Hail Mary/' chanted, (lights up, con- 
gregation rises) 

10. Hymn. "Holy God, we praise Thy 
name." Lauda Sion. (little flower girls 
strew flowers before the Blessed Sac- 
rament.) 

11. Reading: Miracles and Legends of the 
Blessed Sacrament. 

12. Hymn, (after song; lights down) 

13. Litany: Litany for a Happy Death. 

14. Hymn. Concluded by "Tantum 
Ergo," Benediction and Laudate. 
(lights) 

The last Sunday of every month has been 
set aside for the Holy Hour. 

By keeping a watch near, the priest can 
time himself. 

A boy dressed in white is called the petition 
bearer; he is flanked right and left by two 
other boys. The flower girls enter at No. 9. 

Organ chimes are successfully introduced 
at No. 9, and during Benediction. The 
Children of Mary and other church societies 
are invited at times to act as a guard of 
Honor during the Holy Hour. 



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